Code Geass:Lelouch of the Rebellion::Resurrection
by Adipvpster
Summary: Set 19 years after Zero Requiem. The Son of Zero and Nunally-Lelouch Vi-Britannia who is splitting image of 99th Emperor decides to study in Ashford Academy. What will happen when a war is here? What will happen when he meets the witch? Find out here...
1. Lelouch Vi Britannia

**CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Revolution, Resurrection**

**Path 01: Lelouch Vi Britannia**

_It's been 15 years since the death of the 99__th__ emperor of the Britannia-Lelouch Vi Britannia. The empire he created also ended with him. The next empress Nunnally Vi Britannia declared that the world will be unified under Britannia but at the same time the power to run the territories will be retained by the natives of the land to operate by the means of democratic governments This was the first act passed by the empress and was accepted worldwide. 3 years later after the act, under the acknowledgement of all the noble families, the empress was wed with Zero under the pretext of unification._

_There were many who wanted to unmask Zero, but the idea wasn't supported by 'Order of Black Knights' which still possessed large influence, not only over Japan, but throughout the whole world. Zero, being the head of the organization of justice, and Nunnally being the empress one can say that a perfect peace was achieved. Henceforth, till today no one knows who zero is, even, the 'Order of Black Knights'. There are only two who know the true identity though, one is the empress Nunnally and the other one is the son of Nunnally and Zero - __**Lelouch Vi Britannia. **_

_There is still lot of unrest among the people. Perfect Peace hasn't been achieved yet. As soon as the cloud of war was lifted, people began questioning Zero's identity. And the fact that the crown prince was named after Lelouch was still not accepted by many. And also the empire's crown prince still hadn't shown his face to the people. His identity was also kept secret under the pretext of security. People not knowing who is leading them, the empire seemed to be falling apart. The 'Order of Black Knights' were still trying their best to suppress these unrest as they didn't wanted to have a rebellion against the empire. Although there was a little possibility of any force rebelling against the empire as that meant going against the world, the empire didn't take the matter lightly. Zero took complete responsibility of the Order and was traveling around the world to suppress even a tiny spark of them. It's been 10 years since he has been even in contact with Nunnally and still hasn't even seen the face of his son!_

**The Imperial Palace at the Pendragon(Rebuilt)**

Nunnally was in the garden looking at the album. It was a family album of her with Lelouch when she was in Ashford Academy. It was the photo of 'Student Council'. She had tears in her eyes as she recalled her days with Lelouch. When she was still in her memories, she heard footsteps approaching her. She knew who it was and closed the album and looked at the person. He was a 11 year old boy who was the exact copy of 99th Emperor 'Lelouch Vi Britannia'.

"What is it Lulu?" she asked gently

"Mother" answered Lelouch, "I have decided to go to the outside world. I would like you to grant me permission to do so"

"What?" this shocked Nunnally. She resumed her calmness after few seconds and replied "No, the request isn't acceptable. You are not to set foot out of this palace"

"Why not?" asked Lelouch calmly, "If you are worried about my appearance, then don't be. I take proud in the fact that I look like my Uncle."

"No it's not that" answered Nunnally

"Then, is it the fact that you think I will be lost from you"

"No… It's not that either" answered Nunnally slowly

"Please, I am sick of being a caged bird inside the palace. I want to set out of this wretched place"

Nunnally was silent. She didn't reply.

Lelouch continued "Mother, I understand that you care about me. That is why you wish to protect me and I am grateful for that feeling. But, I too have my life to lead. I know in 7 years I will be crowned the Emperor and will be stripped of my freedom, please allow me to be myself at least now."

Nunnally's understood that the resolution Lelouch made was firm

"Do you know Lelouch? Why I have ordered you not to go out of the palace?"

"What…? Yes, it's because I resemble the 99th emperor of Britannia."

"No" answered Nunnally

"Then why?" asked Lelouch

Nunnally sighed, "I suppose you must have figured out by now, what actually happened on the day of death of my brother"

Lelouch became silent for a moment. He then continued, "According to my knowledge and the data I have gathered, I concluded that Father always carried vengeance against Uncle, so I thought it was an act of revenge, but I was wrong. It was recently that I found out that he had put his life in danger so many times when Uncle's life was in danger. He was almost killed too but didn't fail in protecting the Emperor. This made me think about the possibility that he carried his loyalty and still carries it now to the emperor Uncle Lelouch."

Lelouch looked at his mother. Noticing she was silent, he concluded it was the truth and continued, "Former Knight of Uncle Lelouch, Jeremiah whose life was dedicated to the service of the royal family ordered the troops to retreat instead of capturing Zero, this makes me almost certain of my theory, and I ended up coming on a conclusion." Lelouch stopped. "Mother, the fact I said now is true; isn't it?" asked Lelouch

Nunnally looking at a bit surprised and proud looked at her son and nodded yes.

"Then just answer me one thing. If this holds true, then I have figured out what had happened that day"

"What is it son?" asked Nunnally

"**Zero who lead the Black Rebellion and the 'Order of Black Knights', was Uncle Lelouch, right?**"

Nunnally felt a jolt on hearing this. She heard something which she didn't wanted to.

"Looking at your reaction, I feel like I am right" sighed Lelouch.

"That trait of you… resembles brother very much Lulu" said Nunnally, Lelouch didn't reply, Nunnally continued, "He was a genius from his very birth, but he always held an inferiority complex against Brother Schneizel which stopped him from reaching his full potential. But, he finally defeated him and became 'True Genius' at the end"

"So…I am right, It was Uncle Lelouch who planned to be killed while the whole hatred of the world was on him"

"Yes…You are…right" answered Nunnally

"Mother, you too hate yourself don't you?" Lelouch suddenly framed an unimaginable question

"What?" Nunnally was completely speechless

"From what I know, Uncle always said that he wanted to turn the world to a peaceful place. I had a feeling that he was Zero from when I found about this. He wanted to change the world because he wanted you to smile and live in the peaceful world without any fear, all he did was for your sake, but in the end you never completely understood him. You became his enemy thinking that you can save him from falling into darkness. But you only became a burden to him. You were led by Uncle Schneizel's words and didn't even try to understand what Uncle experienced in his life to protect you…"

"Stop it" Nunnally held her head as if her head was split in two

"You were grateful for Uncle Schneizel that he saved your life and decided to follow him, not thinking of Uncle even for once who sacrificed his entire life just to keep you smiling…"

"Stop it", Nunnally sunk deeper and deeper

"If only you had tried to understand him better, then he would have had a much less cruel death. At least he would be at peace knowing the little sister he cared so much for, trusted him for her entire life and never doubted him…"

"**Stop itttttttttttt"** Nunnally shouted

There was a heavy atmosphere between them now. Nunnally was extreme pain and Lelouch now was at loss of words

After a while, Lelouch apologized, "Please forgive my rudeness Mother, I didn't intended to hurt you". He saw his mother in tears

After a while, Nunnally replied, "No, what you said was truth. I didn't even try to understand what brother felt and took actions on my own. Brother and you have every right to be angry on me…"

"But I am not…" Lelouch was interrupted

"Yes, I know you are not brother. But you don't feel out of place Lulu" smiled Nunnally with her tears

"What do you mean mother?" asked Lelouch surprised

"When you were born, both I and your father wanted to name you after my brother because we didn't want to forget him. But, more than that we thought that if you were named after him, we would always have a presence of a brother around us…"

"So, you thought me as a replacement for Uncle. Is that what you are implying mother?"

"No, it's not like that Lulu… It's just that…" Nunnally didn't speak.

"It's alright with me being the replacement Mother" Lelouch smiled

"Eh? What?"

"If I am treated as a replacement, doesn't that mean I am capable of substituting Uncle right?"

"You… are right. You don't feel out of place Lulu. When I am with you, talk with you, smile with you, it feels just like it did with brother…You don't feel out of place at all…" Tears filled her eyes yet again, "Oh, no! What am I saying?... I am your mother and still saying that I am treating you like brother…What is wrong with me?" She wiped her tears in a mess

"Mother, I feel ease as now I know that you didn't hate Uncle" sighed Lelouch

"What are you saying Lulu?" Nunnally asked, "And why are so much worried about Brother? It's unnatural for you to stand for him when you haven't even met him once"

Lelouch paused, "It's just that, deep in my heart, I feel like I know him. I respect him and his intelligence and for unknown reason always look up to him. That's why I can't tolerate anyone speaking ill of him"

"I am happy to hear that too. I am glad that you didn't turn out to hate him like the major noble families"

"And also about that…" paused Lelouch

"Yes Lulu, what is it" asked Nunnally

"No, it's nothing…" he stopped, "Mother after having this conversation with you, I hope you don't deny my request of stepping to the outside world."

Nunnally remained silent for a moment, "By outside, where exactly do you mean?" she asked

"**To** **Japan, I want to join Ashford Academy for my education and want to live in the same house as you did**"

"What? Why there?" asked Nunnally

"Because Uncle once lived there" Lelouch answered plainly

Nunnally looked into the firm eyes of Lelouch. She realized that he had made up his mind.

"Very well then, but I will oblige to your request on two conditions"

"What is it Mother?" asked Lelouch

"You must allow me choose you a guardian from the 'Knights of Round'. Also you must promise me not to use either your real name or your authority as crown prince unless your life is in danger and emergency reasons only"

"Does that mean… I will have a new identity and life?"

"Yes. That's true"

"Then on one condition, you must allow me to use my name as Lelouch and can alter only the rest. I will not accept anything other that for my first name and I clearly state that I won't undergo a face change"

"That's unacceptable Lulu, you will be hated if you do that" Nunnally tried to convince him

"That's fine with me. One can trust people if they choose the one for whom he truly is. If he gets chosen for something he is not, then his life would be full of misery"

"I understand. If you want to face the world alone, I won't stop you. I will just consider this as a part of your training. I trust you and have faith in you. Just don't regret the decision you made Lulu"

"Thank You, Mother. I am very grateful to you" Lelouch bowed and walked out of the room.

"I don't know what you are planning Lulu, but please don't die. You are the only one who can make this a peaceful world better than me. Please…Brother, look after him"

/*My Space- As many of you know, my other stories have been a standstill. I have received many mails asking to continue the stories. I am grateful that you are interested in my stories and Thank you for your time spent on them and I assure you that I haven't dropped any of the stories I have taken. It's just that I am at my final year of College (or High School in Japan) So, I am a bit busy studying. But I promise to finish the stories and would like you to support me. Thank You-with regards ~^_^~ */

**Path 02-Itsuki Kaname**


	2. Kaguya Sumeragi

**CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Revolution :: Resurrection**

**Path 02-Kaguya Sumeragi**

_It's been almost 6 months since the talk with Mother about me studying in Japan. I thought that once she agreed, I would be sent to Japan right away, but I really was an Idiot for thinking so. The Procedures that I had to follow, the court I had to convince and the training I had to complete was absolute hell. I never thought that it would so much difficult for me to visit Japan. But still, I am happy though. The very thought of studying in the house of Uncle Lelouch makes me think it was worth it. But, before that as I agreed with Mother, I am going to collect my Guardian-'Knight of Five' from the __**Head of Japan**__-Kaguya Sumeragi. At first, I didn't want to visit her, but according to Mother, she had a close relationship with Uncle Lelo… I mean Zero and carry something important that he once carried. That was the main reason why I agreed on visiting her. If possible, I would like to take it back from her. And also, although she doesn't know, she __**is**__ a relative of mine from my Father's side. I just hope this goes well_-Lelouch sighed

The flight which Lelouch was on, finally reached its destination.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived in Kyoto" a protocol was announced

"Finally here" Lelouch sighed as he took out a mask from the bag which was beside him. It was the mask of Zero

"_Should I wear it?_" he thought to himself. He sighed, "_Why do I have to do this? It's not like my face is horrible or anything…_"

As the plane landed, he was dressed as Zero.

"Your Majesty, I will accompany you to Lady Kaguya's place now Jeremiah said as he appeared before Lelouch

"Jeremiah, Do I need to go dressed as Zero? Can't I just go as myself?" Lelouch complained

"Absolutely not! This was order from her Highness, You should obey them. You even refused high security and wanted to come here alone. Do you not know your position? There might be assassins waiting to ambush you…"

"I have nothing to worry about when I have 'Knight of One' for my protection; do I?" Lelouch smiled

"Well, I am honored that you trust me so much. But you must be at your guard yourself too"

"OK, I got it. Now, shall we move out?" Lelouch asked

"About that, there seems to be a little problem…" Jeremiah said a bit worried

"What now?"

"Well, it seems like the news of Crown Prince coming to Japan has been leaked somehow and there is a large crowd outside waiting to greet you…"

"Well, it can't be helped. No one can stop the rumors from spreading to people. Now what should we do Jeremiah? Is the Japanese Government going to pick us up or what?" Lelouch asked

"Yes, they are controlling the crowd right now and it will be a matter of time before we head out"

"Good to hear then" Lelouch sighed, but suddenly something flashed in his mind, "Jeremiah, what should I do when I get outside?"

"What?" Jeremiah asked a bit confused

"I mean, I am their future Emperor. So, should I greet them, wave at them or should I just ignore them? What should I do?" he asked a bit flustered

"Well, I suggest that you at least greet them. A King should never neglect his subjects"

"I know that, but don't you think that if I greet them wearing a mask, they will be angry instead of happy"

"Well…That might be true, but you must not forget that you are who you are. Eventually, your face will be exposed to the public and will be hated even more than that of now. That's why I suggest…"

"I got it…you want me to get experienced to hatred of people. That's what you are suggesting right"

"Forgive my rudeness your Majesty" Jeremiah apologized

"Don't worry about it. Mother did say this visit would be a part of my training. And I too refused to change my face. This means that this is the path that I chose, right?" smiled Lelouch

"Yes, your majesty"

"I better be prepared for a rough day tomorrow" Lelouch sighed as he prepared to depart with Jeremiah

**Gate of Imperial Palace in Kyoto**

An Imperial Escort Vehicle stopped in front of the palace gate. Soldiers were gathered all around the palace and were controlling the crowds. Reporters, News Channels, Public were all being pushed back by almost 2000 soldiers and guards.

"Kaguya-sama, it seems like they have arrived" a guard reported

"I understand. I will be on my way to greet them" said Kaguya, as she walked to the front with her Soldiers.

The door opened and Prince Lelouch dressed as Zero, stepped out. Jeremiah too was beside him

Kaguya advanced to them and greeted them.

"Nice to meet you Your Majesty, I am Kaguya Sumeragi, Imperial Head of the Japan"

Lelouch too greeted her

"The Pleasure is mine, I am Lelouch Vi Britannia, Crown Prince of Britannia Empire and this is Jeremiah, my escort from the Knights of Round'"

"It's an honor to meet his majesty and the fact that he has chosen our land to visit" Kaguya smiled

"No, no. It's my honor that you have accepted my request to let me visit here. I am truly grateful to you"

"Well then, shall we continue our conversation inside then" Kaguya suggested

"Yes" Lelouch and Jeremiah followed waving at the crowd and the guards.

**Kaguya's Room**

It was night and was a full moon and there was a reflection of it in the pond beside the room where Kaguya and Lelouch were. It was a Japanese style room. Kaguya and Lelouch were sitting before one another. Kaguya was a bit higher than Lelouch though. Jeremiah was with Lelouch but Kaguya was alone.

"Lady Kaguya" Lelouch spoke, "I believe Empress has told you the real reason that I have decided to visit Japan. Although everyone believes that this is just a trip to study Japanese court system, my real reason is to study in Ashford Academy"

Kaguya sighed, "Your Majesty, You do realize that the request you are making is unreal; don't you?"

"Yes I do. But this is my wish and I want to fulfill it no matter what"

"Then please answer me one thing, Why do you insist on studying there? You must already have finished your graduation. There is no need for you to come back here and study what you already finished again"

"The answer is simple, because it was the place where the former Emperor of Britannia studied" he said it one line

"Wh…" Kaguya was dumbfounded on hearing the answer

After pulling herself together, she continued, "I don't believe it's a valid reason. Just because Lelouch-sama studied there, doesn't mean you have to study there as well"

"Lelouch–sama? Does that mean that you knew my uncle Personally? I was informed that you were one of acquaints of my uncle. But I wasn't informed how exactly you knew him, you mind if I ask about it?"

"What?" this shocked Kaguya once again

"Your Majesty… Please don't bother Lady Kaguya. It seems like she doesn't want to speak" Jeremiah tried to suggest something

"Why not Jeremiah, after all I decided to study in Japan because I wanted to know more about Uncle Lelouch. I am very lucky to meet someone who knew about him in person"

"Bur your Majesty…" he was interrupted by Kaguya

"It's alright Jeremiah-dono. Your Majesty, I met Lelouch-sama when I visited my cousin Suzaku Kururugi. I was told that he was the Prince of Britannia there"

"Suzaku Kururugi, that man" sighed Lelouch. "Is that the only time you met with my Uncle in Person?" Lelouch asked

"What…Yes…It's true" Kaguya replied somewhat uncertain

"That's strange" Lelouch said, "Mother informed me to retrieve something important that my Uncle carried from you. She said she needed to see it. I wonder if she was mistaken" Lelouch assumed a position as if he was thinking deeply of something while Jeremiah was looking at him a bit lost

"What? Nunnally-sama asked you?" Kaguya spoke in haste

"Yes, she said that you carried something which her brother kept with him. It seems like she was mistaken. There is no way you would have it if you didn't knew it personally" Lelouch sighed

"Yes…it seems like she was… mistaken" Kaguya spoke uncertainly yet again

"Oh, and by the way, I would like to meet with the 'Knight of Five'."

"What? Yes, Knight of Five." Kaguya was still a bit nervous, "Itsuki-kun, you may enter"

Jeremiah smiled as he thought, "_That's just like him. Lady Kaguya was insisting on changing his Majesty's mind a moment ago, but now she fell right into his pace"_

A young man who was around 14 years, entered the room. He had a Light Blue hair and distinct yellow eyes. He was more of a Britannian than Japanese.

"Yes, Kaguya-sama" he bowed before Kaguya

"Your highness, this person is Itsuki Ohgi. He is the 'Knight of Five' who will be assigned as guardian" Lelouch introduced

"Ohgi… It seems like I have heard the name before" Lelouch said as he looked at the Knight

"I am sure you must have heard his name your majesty. Ohgi-san is the Prime-Minister of Japan. And Itsuki-kun is one of the Knights after all"

"Yeah… I remember now" Lelouch said as though he found out something, "You must be son of 'Kaname Ohgi' and 'Villetta'. I thought you looked more like a Britannian than Japanese. You're the son of the commander who fought against my Uncle with the 'Order of Black Knights'…" he said bluntly.

"What?" Lelouch asked after looking at the awed faces of the three members

"It's just that your Majesty remembered the fact of Ohgi-san fighting against Lelouch-sama rather than remembering he is the Prime Minister of the country…" Kaguya said as she smiled forcefully

"Oh! Sorry about that. It's just that I don't have any interest in remembering the head of all the nations. But I do have interest in everyone who fought against my Uncle though" Lelouch said

"Oh! I…see" Kaguya forced a smile yet again.

"Now then, how will I be admitted here?" Lelouch asked

"Yes about that, Nunnally-sama has asked me to assign you as the younger brother of 'Knight of Five'. You will be living with Ohgi family until you are 14 and will be transferred to Ashford Academy for your High-School Education…" Kaguya was interrupted

"Lady Kaguya, What do you mean by living with Ohgi and the family? Do you want me to stand out more? The fact that I will be studying here is kept secret because I don't want to stand out too much" Lelouch said

"Yes, I understand your concern Your Majesty. But rest assure, if you were to be the adopted son, then there should be no worrying. Only I and the Ohgi family will know the truth about you." Kaguya tried to convince

"But it's still impossible…"

"Excuse me Kaguya-sama" Itsuki interrupted the conversation

"Yes, Ituski-kun, what is it?" Kaguya asked

"I would like to ask his Majesty to show his face to us. It would cause a problem if I were to guard him without knowing who exactly he is"

"Watch your language kid, do you know who you are talking to?" Jeremiah shouted

"It's alright Jeremiah, The demand he made isn't anything wrong" Lelouch said. "Alright then. I will show my face. But in doing so, it means that I am trusting with my secret. The face that you see here mustn't be mentioned anywhere without my permission. Do you understand?"

"Yes Your Majesty" Itsuki said firmly

"Yes… I understand. Your secret will be safe with me. I will carry it to my grave Your Majesty" Kaguya answered.

"OK then", Lelouch slowly reached his mask

Kaguya and Itsuki gulped and atmosphere got heavier. Even Jeremiah felt the nervousness of them.

As Lelouch placed his hand on the mask, Kaguya remembered the time Lelouch removed his mask before everybody of the "Order of Black Knights". She wasn't present there, so she felt like at the moment, Lelouch(former) himself was removing the mask. She imagined Lelouch removing his mask and smiling before her, but she never thought that what she was thinking was about to come true

As Lelouch placed his hand on the mask, it slowly opened and he slowly took it from the face

With the purple eyes of his, he gazed at Kaguya, "Lady Kaguya, this is my true face. I hope you don't have any objections"

"Le…lo…uch - sa…" Kaguya couldn't believe what she saw.

"With all respect Your Majesty" Itsuki spoke, "Could you please stop teasing us"

"I assure you "Knight of Five", this is no prank" Lelouch said as he smiled, "This is the face I was born with; isn't it Jeremiah?"

"Ye…Yes, your Majesty" Jeremiah too felt a chill down the spine. Although he was one of the few in the palace who knew Lelouch from birth, it still was an experience which would make him go cold.

Itsuki gulped. He was feeling an enormous amount of pressure for some reason looking at the smile of Lelouch. He couldn't understand was it because of his status or his confident smile.

"I apologize your Majesty" he said with much effort

"Don't worry about it" Lelouch smiled

Lelouch turned towards Kaguya, "Now, about my stay here…", he stopped looking at the look of her face. Itsuki too noticed this.

"Kaguya-sama…" Itsuki called her. But there was no response from her. She held her hands near her lips and was shaking quite rapidly. Her eyes were filled with fear and regret.

She must be terrified, Itsuki thought. "Kaguya-sama…" he once again called her out a bit louder.

"Yes…" She suddenly felt as she was abruptly pulled back from another world

"Are you alright Lady Kaguya?" Lelouch asked

"Yes, forgive me your Majesty" she apologized inverting her eyes. She didn't want to look in his eyes.

"About my stay, I will leave the preparations to you. I hope you understand now"

"Yes… I do your Majesty" she said

"And one more thing" Lelouch said "Could you inform my Mother that you don't have anything of my Uncle under your possession? I don't want to break the heart of my Mother you see…" he smiled

"Yes…I understand…" Kaguya replied slowly

"Well then, I better get some sleep now, I feel a bit tired. Lets go Jeremiah" Lelouch said as he stood up as she put back his mask on

"Will you guide me to my room, Itsuki…was it?" Lelouch asked

"Yes, Your Majesty" Itsuki couldn't speak more than that.

"Your Majesty" Kaguya called as Lelouch was ready to depart

"Yes Lady Kaguya"

"I am sorry for lying to you. Please take this" Kaguya presented a Black Book which had White Lines as outline. It had 'Lelouch Lamperouge' as Book Name and a small box.

"Does this book…?" Lelouch was interrupted

"It belongs to Lelouch-sama. I found it in his room when we betray… No, it's nothing. Please forgive me for lying to you"

"It's alright" Lelouch smiled as Jeremiah took the book and the small box and gave it to Lelouch. He noticed that the book was locked.

"Lady Kaguya, do you know where the lock is?" Lelouch asked

"It's in the small box"

"What is this small box? I haven't seen anything like this before" Lelouch said as she examined it. It was a cube. One of the side could be opened for a screen. It had 7 buttons on one side with total of 41 buttons (excluding the screen side) which had 26 alphabets and 10 numbers and 5 special characters engraved on it.

"It is a high level storage unit which was used to protect important thermal conductors which were smaller and costlier for Knightmare Frames, while transporting during the time of war. The only way to open them is through entering the password"

"May I ask if you know what the password is?" Lelouch asked

"I am sorry, I couldn't figure out what it was" Kaguya said apologetically

"It's alright" Lelouch smiled, "Let's go Itsuki"

"Yes Your Majesty", Itsuki said and walked out of the room. Lelouch and Jeremiah followed him in a distance.

"Your Majesty" Jeremiah spoke, "You do know that Lady Kaguya will cry now; don't you?"

"And what of it?" asked Lelouch

"It's just that, it's not polite to make a lady cry"

"Is that so, I will take a note from now on" Lelouch said as if he didn't care.

"But still, why did you use that much pressure on her? I understood that she didn't want to have you here by the way conversation started, but…"

"You're still naïve Jeremiah" Lelouch said

"I beg your pardon?" Jeremiah couldn't believe what he was hearing from a 12 year old boy

"It's not like she didn't want to have us, but didn't want to have another Zero. That's all" Lelouch said

"I'm afraid I don't understand" Jeremiah replied

"It doesn't matter now. I got what I needed" Lelouch smiled

"You mean the book or the permission to study? Which one is it? And also, I didn't hear anything from Her Highness regarding the book. What is it?"

"It's something Uncle carried. I found out about it in the palace accidentally. It just said that it carried his happiness, that's all." Lelouch sighed

"But, I never would have thought that Lady Kaguya had it in her possession" Jeremiah said

"Well, I found out she had a crush on Uncle Lelouch. So, I thought there was a maximum possibility that she took it"

"You mean to say, you knew it from the start that the former Emperor was Zero?" Jeremiah asked a bit shocked

"That's right! I forgot that you too knew the secret about my Uncle. Actually, I figured it out quite a while ago, but I could only be certain after Mother testified it as true"

"But if you knew that, then why did you put up such an act? It would be resolved easily if you just said you knew the truth"

"Jeremiah, if I told her the truth, then she would have definitely given me the book, but do you honestly believe she would have let me stay here?"

"Oh, yes. You said you wanted to study here because you wanted to know more about His Highness-Lord Lelouch, but it would also mean that you would be interested in Zero as well; doesn't it?"

"Yes. That is the reason I used her guilt and sin to manipulate Lady Kaguya" Lelouch explained

"You truly are a fearsome man Your Majesty, just like him" Jeremiah sighed.

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked a bit surprised

"The way you spoke there, it really felt like I was with Lord Lelouch. I have to admit, you are just like him"

"Really?" Lelouch asked happily. "Mother too said the same thing, but I still can't convince myself"

"Maybe it's because you never had a chance to meet His Highness. Then you could have seen your resemblance" Jeremiah smiled

"Just like him, huh?" Lelouch sighed. He then noticed that Itsuki was very far away from them and increased his pace to catch up to him.

He was then lost in the thought of his days which were yet to come. The days which he thought would bring him close to his Uncle, were the days which would lead him to his Past, Present and Future alongside the World's.

/***My Space- **I had made 2 errors in the First Chapter, I noticed it recently, First, the age of Lelouch was supposed to be 11 but I wrote that it was 16. Second is, he will be crowned at the age of 18. Sorry, I made such silly mistakes. And Thank You for reading First Chapter, the response to it was greater than I assumed it would be. Thank You for your support */


	3. Ashford Academy

**Path 03: Ashford Academy**

"Lulu…" a faint voice echoed in Lelouch's ear. It was for some reason warm and tender

"Lulu…wake up", it repeated itself again

"Five more minutes" Lelouch mumbled

"What a fellow?" Lelouch heard somebody mutter those words. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground

"Is this the way the crown prince supposed to be treated?" he sprouted unconsciously opening his sleepy eyes

"What Crown Prince? You are just a son of a commoner, remember?" he heard the irritating voice again which woke him up.

"Oh, it's you Villetta" he said as he looked at the person who woke him up and yawned hugely.

"Yaaw… It hurts" he held his cheek as Villetta pinched him

"Apologize" she ordered him while pinching him harder

"Sorry, mom….Please…let…go" Lelouch begged the once elite Knightmare Pilot for forgiveness.

"It's good as long as you understand, now clean yourself and come down for dinner" Villetta ordered him and walked out

"What commoner?" Lelouch looked at Villetta who was walking, with his cheek held. For unknown reason, he was happy instead of being angry at her.

He then changed his clothes to Ashford Academy's black winter uniform and then once again looked at the mirror only to find a smile on it. "_What's wrong with me?_" he thought, "_Well, it's alright I guess_", he muttered to himself and walked downstairs.

"Morning Dad", he greeted Kaname who was on the dining table sipping coffee while holding news paper and watching the news at the same time.

"Morning Lulu" Kaname greeted

"Where is brother?" he asked noticing 'Knight of Five's' absence

"He got a call from the Viceroy, so he had to head out" Villetta came wearing an apron. Anyone could have guessed she was at kitchen till the moment.

"What for?" asked Lelouch as he sat on the table

"Well, it seems like there was some information about some illegal trespassers in the Okinawa prefecture" Kaname answered

"Again? Hasn't there been many trespassing recently?" Lelouch asked as he started to eat

"It can't be helped there are still many people who haven't been sheltered by the war." Kaname said

"But still, Japan has the most number of trespassers compared to Independent Chinese Union"

"I guess because we are more lenient than them. Their laws for punishment is much more harsher than us"

"It's not a good thing you know, treating trespassers leniently"

"Why not? After all, they too are humans Lulu"

Lelouch sighed, "You know, terrorists are also humans. This might be some kind of trap set up to destroy this area. Don't you feel like it?"

"You are just imagining things. Your father won't let that happen, so relax" Kaname said it before realizing. He then remembered something and looked at the face of the prince

"That man again" Lelouch sighed, "You know what, he is not a God. After all, he is a human like us. You just can't rely on him for everything"

"That's true…" Kaname said, "But his status is that of a God in the world"

Lelouch still had a sad look on his face

_Thud_, the table sounded. As Lelouch and Kaname looked at Villetta, she seemed very angry. Both of them were frightened at the expression she had. She then spoke in a terrifying voice

"Normally people speak about how the recent days they spent have been with family. So please keep your conversation to a family level" her eyes were frightening to go against.

"Yes" both Lelouch and Kaname surrendered without a word

"I am glad you understand" Villetta put up a smile and relaxed on her seat

The dinner of the family continued

"So, how is your school Lulu?" she asked

"As usual" Lelouch didn't show any emotion.

By usual, they understood that it meant pranks played on him.

"You know Lulu, you really ought to change your face…" Kaname suggested, "You are simply ruining your high school life like this"

"**Absolutely no" **Lelouch said firmly and continued his meal.

The atmosphere around them changed. After a while, Villetta asked to change the atmosphere, "Why do you go so much for _him_ Lulu?"

Lelouch paused his meal. Staring at the spoon he held, he spoke "It's simple, I admire _him_. So, please don't say anything like this again" he said and the atmosphere became heavy once again

After a while Kaname said, "We understand that you admire _him_ so much, but is that really worth going through all those horrible things at school?"

Lelouch didn't speak. He finished him meal and stood up. He then glanced at Kaname and Villetta and said, "If you truly understood _him_, then you wouldn't be saying such things. My face is the only thing that I am proud of. There is no way I am going to change it because of some insignificant entities pranks. If I change myself for these things, then there is no way I could bring the true peace _he_ spoke of"

Both Kaname and Villetta were dumbfounded by the answer.

"I'm going now" Lelouch said and walked out of the Ashford quarters

"What a stubborn kid" Villetta sighed, "I have heard that Princess Cornellia had a sister complex over Princess Euphemia, but his is worse than any simple human complexes"

"It's not that Chigusa" Kaname said as he looked at the door through which Lelouch left.

"What do you mean?" she asked

"He believes and understands Zero completely, so he probably feels very near to _him_"

"Now that you mention it, he did say he didn't really had any family. All his brothers were always plotting something against him" Villetta agreed

"You know, I too had a similar belief in _him_, maybe not strong as him, but I once believed _him _more than myself and I was also proud of the fact" Villetta didn't speak anything, "but in the end, I ended up betraying _him._"

"It's not your fault Ohgi" Villetta said "_He _was too complicated for us to understand. I guess only great minds can understand _him_ like Lulu does"

"But still, why does it hurt so much when I think about _him_?" he asked her. "I want to forget about _him _and continue to leave in peace, but _he _still haunts me… I am not sure of myself what I am doing"

"It's alright" Villetta said, "Even though you feel like you have betrayed _him_, I am sure it can be redeemed by bringing peace to the world"

Kaname didn't respond. He kept on staring at the food before him. Villetta too was at loss of words. The dinner continued under the heavy atmosphere.

_It's been 3 years since then. After the talk with Kaguya, I started to live with Ohgi family. Upon Jeremiah's request, Villetta or __**Mom**__, trained my physical body for the 3 years and made him a soldier who was capable of becoming a Major! Although it was hell, it was one of the conditions. As they said I was mentally capable, they wanted to train my body for self defense. I personally didn't like it though. There was no use for me to train my body for such extent. But for some reason, I couldn't stand up to that violent woman. She threatened me. That was one of the scariest moment of my life. But still, thank to that my stamina and my reflexes increased and now, I am able to stand up some of the bullies at the school. Those insignificant entities, acting like high and mighty because of their heritage, it really pisses me off. But still, a king has to be forgiving as well, so I overlook these matters. After all, my dream is to bring the peace __**he**__ spoke of. So, I too need to experience the environment he grew up in, and this is the only way to do it. If I truly understand __**him,**__ then and only then, I can understand the concept of __**his**__ peace. So, I will spend my next 3 years learning about __**him**__ and the world in this Ashford Academy. I will truly transform this world for him…_

As Lelouch was thinking such things, he was already in the corridor of the school. He could hear the ruckus of the classroom all the way

"You must have seen her, she was so cute"

"I haven't seen someone with green hair in the academy"

"No, I definitely saw her yesterday, she was wearing a our academy's uniform"

"Are you sure you haven't mistaken her with someone, Dumas?"

"Idiot, there is no way I would make a mistake. She was definitely here"

As the conversation was getting louder, Lelouch entered the classroom. As soon as he entered, the lively classroom turned into a graveyard. There was silence all over.

Lelouch ignored the change and sat on his seat.

"My, my, the Emperor has made his appearance" there was an annoying voice

Lelouch ignored the voice and took out a book.

The group which were making a ruckus until now, walked near him. There were 3 people.

"Ignoring us are we? Emperor Lelouch…" he said in an irritating tone

Lelouch didn't respond. He ignored them and was only concentrating on the book he was reading.

"The Emperor seems to busy" he said again. The entire class was silent and were ignoring the conversation

Lelouch turned a page from the book.

"Speak something you bastard", one of the student shouted and attacked him and grabbed his collar.

But Lelouch didn't respond. While the student took his collar, he noticed that his hand was shaking. He just looked at his attacker with a killing gaze.

"Wha…What?" he asked in a shaking voice.

"**Let go**" Lelouch ordered him. The poor boy was so scared after receiving such a glare, he let go him without even thinking.

The whole class noticed this, but nobody responded, they too could feel the cold aura of Lelouch.

Lelouch corrected his collar and resumed his book.

"Don't get cocky now, you murderer" Dumas shouted at him

It seemed like Lelouch was getting impatient. He glared at Duman with a piercing eye and smirked at him

"Why You…" Dumas was enraged by the action

"Don't get cocky because you are an acquaints of Director, if I wish for it then this academy could be destroyed" Dumas shouted out

"Is that a fact!" Lelouch retorted as if he didn't care

"Why you imbe…" he was interrupted by Villetta who entered.

"Duman, get back to your seat" Villetta ordered

"Tch," Dumas and the his gang walked away from Lelouch

Lelouch sighed and closed the book he was reading and opened his text book. When he took a look at his teacher, he could only see a sad face she carried

_The fate of a King is to protect his world_

Lelouch entered the Student Council. He looked a bit worn out. He slowly recalled what happened in the homeroom as he climbed the stairs. It was time for '**School Festival**' and that meant extra work for him. It was his first school festival, but looking at the list of ideas from Director-Milly Ashford, he was exhausted.

"You're late", he was screamed by a cranky boy as soon as he entered the room.

"Sorry, I had an errand to run" Lelouch apologized

He took a good look at the room, no one were still in there.

"Kaichou, where are the rest of the members?" he asked

"Those good for nothing members, they haven't showed up yet" the president answered in a cranky voice. President-Dominic G. Sapphire. He was a tall man with red hair and black eyes. Anyone would fall for him if he wasn't short tempered

"Those useless idiots, I told them that we will be having an important meeting today, where the heck are they?"

"Calm down kaichou, they must be blocked in the class rooms for help" Lelouch said as he placed his bag on the sofa and picked up a coffee

"And where were you?" Dominic asked, "Weren't you blocked?"

"You know the answer don't you" he smiled as he took a look at the pamphlet which was kept next to coffee

The President just glanced at him and resumed his work on laptop.

"What the heck?" Lelouch said surprised, "Kaichou, is it true?" he asked in an unbelievable voice as he looked at the contents

**ASHFORD ACADEMY'S SCHOOL FESTIVAL**

_To Everyone,_

_In the coming school festival of Ashford Academy on _**xx-xx-20xx**_, the main attraction is decide to be to create the World's Largest Pizza. This year, will be different than last year as the prepared food will be made available to public._

_And that's not all, this feast will be prepared by, Knight of Zero (Kallen Kouzuki)! Yes, your own knight shall cook you a delicious recipe. And that's not all folks, we will have another important guest whose name can't be disclosed as of now for security reasons._

_Hope you visit us and enjoy with us_

"Is she gone out of her mind? Will there really be such an event" Lelouch couldn't believe it

"It is true" Dominic sighed.

"What is the meaning of inviting that _Knight of Zero _here of all places and what does she mean by sharing it to everyone? Did she forget what happened last year?"

_Apparently, there was a mix up in the ingredients and the successful pizza which was produced so far turned out to be extremely sweet and the first person to tasted it, 'Knight of Five' ended up 2 weeks in hospital. It was a dreadful experience for the members of Student Council_

"I know, but she isn't the person who understands others" he sighed, "Apparently, it seems like she managed to convince 'Knight of Zero' this time around. She tried last year as well, but she failed"

Lelouch looked at the poster again. He was worried who this other person will be.

Dominic continued, "Do you know how much security she has asked us to organize?"

"Eh? If it's a Knight, then shouldn't we be able to compensate the security?"

"I too suggested it, but she says these must be minimum forces" Dominic said as he pushed a sheet of paper towards Lelouch

Lelouch walked towards the table and took the sheet into his hand

"This is…" it seemed like he couldn't believe it

"That Director, is she out of her mind. She already announced this in the websites and news channels. This is going to be a mess for us with the_ Knight of Zero _and this mysterious guest of hers and our council haven't even had a meeting regarding this…" Dominic was really venting his anger.

Lelouch didn't respond. He just kept looking at the paper he was given with. Noticing that Lelouch was in a shock, Dominic asked, "What's wrong? Are you nervous?"

"No, it's not that" Lelouch sighed. "Kaichou, I'm not feeling well now. I'm going home now" and picked up his bag

"Hey wait" Dominic shouted, "What about the meeting?"

"Don't bother, no one will be here today. With this many attractions, every class is going to try their best to impress the main guest. Do you seriously think they are going to give up their aces for this?" Lelouch asked

Dominic was shocked, "I didn't think about it. How could I have overlooked such important yet obvious thing?"

He started to walk out, "You still have long way to go Kaichou" he just remarked as he waved his hand "Just make an announcement that no student council member is allowed to participate in an event. It should patch things up" Lelouch said as he left

It was only after Lelouch left that Dominic could think that, "I will definitely beat you Lelouch"

_Meeting someone who change your life should never be called as __**coincidence**__, it can only be called as __**fate**_

Lelouch was walking as fast as he could. After he left the council, he didn't return home, instead he just walked outside the school gate and took a motor cycle and drove off as fast as he could. He was really pissed off for some reason

"_Damn Director, why did she has to do this? Of all people choosing __**that person **__to be main guest! It is a problem itself choosing the Knight of Zero to come here, but __**that person**__as well. What the heck is she thinking. She knows my identity, yet she is doing such things. I really hate her"_

As Lelouch was thinking such thoughts, he didn't notice that he was already outside the city. When he came back to his senses, he notice he was near the **Old Shinjuku Ghetto**

"Dammit, I came too far. I need to return to the district" he thought. But suddenly, something flashed in his mind

"_Wait a moment, this is the place where Zero appeared; isn't it?"_ he found a smile on his face as he knew what to do now.

He parked the bike in one of the parking lot. He then walked towards his destination, Shinjuku Ghetto hoping he would find some thing to learn about his uncle.

He wore the mask of Zero and then quickly sneaked inside the area. But he only found fences there. There were very few guards patrolling the ruins so, he used his agility and sneaked past them.

"_So, this is where __**he **__started his legacy as Zero_" Lelouch thought. His heart was beating louder and louder. He explored the area for quite a while.

While lost in his dreams about Zero, Lelouch heard a sound coming from one of the buildings amidst of his exploration.

"Must be some illegal trespassers" he thought and started to walk away.

But something suddenly flashed in his mind, "What if it is a terrorist?"

"_Considering that the fact that Tokyo didn't have any reports on illegal trespassers, it is a high possibility of being a terrorist. With these many guards, they could build their base here without anyone knowing" _Lelouch thought

He decided to investigate the matter. He entered the torn down building from which he heard the sound. He slowly moved inside the house. There were only debris which were spread all over and nothing more in the house. He then prepared his gun which he always carried and was ready to enter the room from which the sound seemed to be coming.

"Who is it?" he heard a female voice coming from the room

Lelouch was shocked. He was sure that he sneaked in perfectly, but he was somehow discovered. He thought not to move for now.

"It's no use trying to hide, I felt your presence from when you were still outside" the voice spoke again

Lelouch was surprised. Hearing the confidence in the voice, he decided that it meant no use in hiding. He sighed deeply and walked in through the door less arc

He examined the room but only found an empty box of pizza which was eaten recently. There was some figure who was sitting in front of the box whose upper side was covered by shadow. But he could see that the person was wearing the Girls uniform of Ashford Academy

"Who are you?" Lelouch questioned. "Are you an illegal trespasser?"

"Who knows?" the voice answered

"If you are not a terrorist, then surrender now. I don't want to hurt you"

"I don't think it's possible for you to hurt me" the voice replied

"Are you underestimating me? Do you know who I am?"

"Well, if you keep your face hidden, I can't possibly tell you now can I?"

"I am the son of the former knight. Don't underestimate my skills"

The person didn't respond. Instead standing up, the voice asked

"Lelouch…Are you Lelouch…You are Lelouch right…?"

This shocked Lelouch, he couldn't believe that someone had seen through the mask he wore.

"Who is this Lelouch? I don't know anyone named him. If you are plotting something, then forget it" Lelouch said as he managed to pull himself together

"Huh" the voice smirked, "Do you think you can still trick me of everyone?"

Lelouch was dumbfounded, "What makes you sure of your words woman?" he asked

She laughed, "Even if you hide your face and change your voice, your presence and the way you talk, is still same as the time you were with me. You haven't changed a bit Lelouch"

_Tak, _the gun that Lelouch held in his hand fell.

"You…know me?" he asked

"What are you talking about? Isn't it obvious?" she asked

Lelouch didn't respond, he slowly reached his mask and took it off.

"Lelouch, it's really you", he heard the confident voice turn into to crying

"Excuse me miss," Lelouch moved towards the person a bit happy and a bit confused. He held her hand as he said, "I am…"

Something flashed on the forehead of her. It was shaped like a bird having a flight.

"What the? What's going on?" Lelouch exclaimed as the same thing happened to him. His forehead was shining in the same way as it was with the person. He lost his balance and fell on the ground

"Lelouch…" she tried to hold the prince as he fell

The light engulfed the both and was very bright for human eyes

"Lelouch…Lelouch… are you alright Lelouch?" she held Lelouch in her arms. Her eyes were watery and were dripping on the unconscious prince

"Wake up…Please…wake up" she begged him

Lelouch slowly opened his eyes. He found himself on the lap of the women with her watery eyes

"I'm glad…I'm glad you're alright…" she cried uncontrollably once again

"_**Are you crying for me, witch?"**_Lelouch spoke as he smiled at her pitiable state.

"Idiot! Who would cry for you?" C.C replied as she wiped her tears

_**/*Next Chapters will be delayed because I will be working on my other fanfics. Please look forward for next chapters ^_^*/**_


	4. Kallen Kouzuki

**Path 04-Kallen Kouzuki**

"Who was that woman?" Lelouch was having a shower. He just stood as his body was drenched thinking of the woman he met on the Shinjuku Ghetto.

He changed his clothes and walked towards the bed. He laid back thinking.

"By the way she spoke, she seemed to have known Uncle. She even said that you can't trick me. Does that mean she was very close to _him_?"

He then stood up and sat before his laptop. He then clicked open a file. The file asked for a password. "n-u-N-n-a-L-l-y" he entered. The files loaded in an instant and displayed some pictures.

He went through all the pictures.

"No", "this is not it", "not this either", he went through all the pictures but couldn't find the women he met today. Although he didn't remember her face, he was confident enough to recognize her face.

He searched for quite a bit, but couldn't find it.

"Darn" he then quickly threw himself over the bed. "The way she seemed to recognize me and the way she said she knew it was my presence, there is a maximum possibility that she knew _him_. But I can't find her anywhere in his photos"

Lost in thought, he fell asleep over the coach.

~~~~~~******~~~~~~

Lelouch woke up. He looked at clock. It was still 4 in the morning. He yawned hugely and got up. For some reason, he didn't want to sleep.

"It was that woman right?" he thought

"Why did she appear in my dream?"

He felt frustrated over himself for not getting anywhere.

"What's wrong with me? It's not like myself at all" He then decided to have another shower as he had free time.

As he was taking shower, he noticed something.

"What is this?" there was something like a flying bird, engraved on his right chest.

"Hmm... Must be some kind of scar from yesterday?" he ignored it and finished with the shower.

He then again came out to his room and logged in to his computer. He just once again looked through the photos.

"She's definitely not in here. But the way she called me Lelouch… She must have had a deep connection with _him_"

As he was lost in thought, Villetta came inside

"You are already up?" she asked a bit surprised

"Yes" answered Lelouch, "I couldn't sleep for some reason" he said without changing his eyes from computer

"What are you looking at?" Villetta asked a bit curious. She saw the expression on Lelouch's face which reminded her of the former Emperor

"Mom, you must know her right… Who is she?" Lelouch asked showing her, one of the photos. It was a girl with long orange air.

Villetta's expression suddenly changed. Noticing this, Lelouch thought something was wrong.

"Her name is Sherley" Villetta said as she remembered her.

"It seems like she was pretty close with _him._ Where is she now?"

"She…died in an terrorist attack 16 years ago" Villetta as she had a sad face when she remembered the terrorist attack was of Jeremiah.

"I see" Lelouch sighed, "Sorry for making you remember sad memories this early in the morning" he apologized

"Don't worry" Villetta said "Although it hurts, we shouldn't forget about the people who were dear to us"

"That's true" Lelouch agreed.

"That's enough for now, why don't you come down for now. You have an early meeting today right?"

"Crap, I forgot about that" Lelouch suddenly remembered that he had an early 'Student Council Meeting'

"I will get ready in a moment" he said and packed his bag with some documents which were scattered all over the room

He then walked down and as usual, sat for his breakfast.

"Where is Dad?" he asked

"He had a call from Viceroy and had to leave" Villetta answered

"Is it Okinawa again?"

"Eh…Yes, how did you know?" Villetta asked a bit surprised

"_So, he has began to move_" Lelouch thought, "Just a hunch" Lelouch finished his meal

"Mom, can I… ask you a question?" Lelouch asked in an rather uncertain voice.

"Sure, go ahead"

With a dead serious look on his face, "What do you think if one dreams of someone who he has vaguely met?" Lelouch asked

"What…" Villetta didn't understand what he meant. But, looking at Lelouch expression, it was clear that he had no experience in something like that.

She cleared her throat, "Is it a girl you dreamt about?"

"Eh… How did you know?" Lelouch asked very much surprised

"When did you meet her? Did you have a proper talk with her?" she asked again

"I met her yesterday…" Lelouch answered

"I see" Villetta smiled, "It's only been one day and she already came in your dream"

"Yes… I think it's strange that someone whom I have met only once to appear in my dream. Don't you think that it's a bit strange?" he asked dead seriously

"No, it's not" Villetta answered.

"What? It's not strange?"

"Yes, for people around your age, its quite normal actually" she said

"Is that so…" Lelouch said a bit confused "It must be my mistake I guess" he sighed

"OK then, I will be on my way" he said as he left

"So, the prince of Britannia has finally come to his age" Villetta smiled as she remembered the serious look on his face. "But with his level of understanding, I bet he will never notice it" she sighed

~~~~~~******~~~~~~

"Am I thinking too much? Is it possible that she didn't know _him_ at all? If that's the case, they how did she identified me? This doesn't make any sense, even if she knew _him_, there's no way she could just say it to a random man pointing gun towards her. The way she spoke without using any honorifics means that they were pretty close to each other, but I can't find her anywhere. Was _he_ trying to hide her existence? But why…"

He couldn't stop but thinking about the girl he met at Shinjuku. All this time, he just spent thinking about her. Suddenly he noticed something

"Wait a moment, She was wearing our School's uniform right? It means that she is around my age, but that's impossible. Then that means the one she recognized was not _him _but me!! She did say that I haven't changed at all. Could that mean that she somehow spent time with me?"

He cancelled that possibility

"There's no way that could be the truth. I am the Prince of Britannia. There is no way she knew me since I was a child. I haven't stepped out of Palace for 12 years and right after that, I spent my time in Villetta's care. There aren't any loopholes in my childhood for her to know me? Does that mean it was really _him_ she mentioned? Darn, I am not getting anywhere" lost in thought, he entered the Student Council

"Ya-ho Lulu-chan" he heard a annoying voice

"It's you Director" Lelouch sighed noticing the presence of Milly Ashford

"What's with that greeting?" Milly asked a bit disappointed

"Then what do you expect me to do? You called _that person_ of all to be main guest. You do no, how much this will affect me?"

"He he" she smiled, "It's been so long right, I am sure you wanted to meet them…"

"Them? You don't mean…" Lelouch was interrupted by the sound of the opened door.

Dominic entered through the door.

"Did I interrupt something?" he asked looking at the faces of Lelouch and Milly

"No, it wasn't important anyway" Milly said

Lelouch wanted to say it was important, but remembering that his secret had to be protected, he calmed down

"Anyway, why are you here Director?" Lelouch asked

"Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow night we are going to have a party here" she smiled

"What?" Dominic and Lelouch exclaimed

"Are you out of your mind Director? We have things hand full as it is, but to have a party here of all places…" Dominic exclaimed

"That's right, we haven't even decided about the organization of security you asked. There is no way we can do a party here of all places!" Lelouch too agreed

"It's alright" Milly smiled, "If you were to give the security in charge to someone else, would you have time for party then?" she asked

"Eh…Sure, It would decrease our work almost by half" Dominic replied

"Then it's okay. I will introduce you to someone who will be in charge of security organization. Happy now?" she asked

"It's…alright I guess" Dominic agreed

"But still, who can organize this much security? Are you sure they are reliable?"

"You can bet on it." Milly said as she left. "Oh, inform the students not to miss tomorrow okay. Tell them that there family's are welcome too"

"What the heck is she thinking?" Dominic spoke in a grouchy voice

"Organizing a party for almost 5000 people on a whim is really outrageous isn't it?" Lelouch agreed

"Everything is just a game to her. Just like a child" Dominic sighed

"Game huh?" Lelouch had a prickly feeling inside him on hearing the word

~~~~~~******~~~~~~

It was finally the party time. The school garden was decorated by various neon lights. The food was set up in the large field of the school. Many Britannia and Japanese people were enjoying the party under the full moon sky. There were more than 5000 people attending the party but most of them were to see the "Knight of Zero" in person.

Dominic and Lelouch were sitting on the fountain looking at the party they worked so hard to organize

"Finally, we can rest" Dominic sighed

"I'm beat. I just want to sleep now" Lelouch replied.

"Me too. I don't care if it's Knight of Zero or whatever. I just want to get some rest" Dominic agreed

"But you still have to escort the Knight don't you?" Lelouch asked

"Yeah, it's still half an hour for that. I like to have some rest until then" Dominic answered, "Darn that woman, making us do all the work while she just supervised. I really hate that woman"

"Now, calm down. Due to her presence, at least no one else slacked off. We could finish the work on schedule thanks to her"

"But, why us? Does she hate us…, for making all the budget and plans throughout the night? She is a slave-driver"

"Who else can she depend on? And also, it does fall under our section of work and also it's our duty to reinforce …"

"Whatever, I don't like to waste my time arguing with you" Dominic said as he didn't care

Lelouch just smiled. He understood that Dominic had done most of the work between them and was really tired.

"But still…" Dominic spoke

"What is it?" Lelouch asked

"I didn't expect to see this much of Britannia today" he said as he looked at the people. He thought he would only see Japanese

"It's obvious! they just want to meet legendary 'Knight of Zero' rather than enjoying the party. That's all" Lelouch answered

"Well no kidding. After all, she **is** the personal guard of Emperor himself!" Dominic said

"Yeah… and the one who destroyed previous Knight of Zero" Lelouch said in a serious voice

Dominic noticed the change in Lelouch's expression. "Speaking of Knights, where is your brother?"

"He is still in Okinawa" Lelouch answered.

"What for? It's almost 4 days since he went there...? Terrorist attacks?"

"No, it was some kind of illegal trespassing. But, now it seems like he was asked to guard Princess **Neferatari** for signing a pact with some sort of industry. I too don't know much about it" answered Lelouch

"I see, he too has his bad days. I wish he could enjoy today." Dominic said a bit disappointed

"No, I think it's lucky he is having a much good time there rather than being here"

"That's true in its own way" Dominic smiled

"Kaichou, there seems to be shortage of wine in sector C. Please come with us." A student came running near them and reported

"That thing always runs out" Dominic stood up, "Wanna come with me?"

"No, I think I will rest for the moment" Lelouch declined the offer

"OK then" Dominic left with the student

"Now what should I do?" Lelouch thought as he drank the juice. He then pulled back his head and inverted his eyes upwards, "_**Coun**_ will start soon, how I should prepare for it?"

He then stood up and walked from the crowd to a dark place. The light wasn't very much visible. In the blind spot amidst the trees, he removed his mobile from the pocket and connected a device to it.

The call he made was picked up

"Jeremiah, it's me" Lelouch spoke

"Your Majesty, it's been a while" Jeremiah replied

"I wanted to ask you something" Lelouch asked seriously

"Yes, what is it your highness?" Jeremiah understood the tension Lelouch spoke in

"It seems like it's time for _Coun_ to begin. There's been a lot of movement here lately. I wanted to confirm Mother's safety there"

"Yes your Majesty, Her Highness is safe here." Jeremiah replied in a similar tensioned voice, "We confirmed that the time for the activation is delayed by 4 weeks. _Coun's_ target is also confirmed for their first strike"

"It's me; isn't it?" asked Lelouch

"Yes" Jeremiah replied

Lelouch sighed, "What about the modifications I told you to fulfill. How are they?"

"We are on schedule. It will be completed in 2 weeks at max"

"The terminal point is?"

"Russia"

"Choosing Asia…won't it be risky?"

"Yes but if the plan proceeds to Plan D, then Asia will be our stronghold"

"OK, I will leave it to you then"

"You can trust me with Her Highness's safety your majesty"

"Oh yes, I will be meeting with my father's Knight"

"You mean, 'Knight of Zero'?"

"Yes, I will test her. If she as capable as you say, then I will inform her with _Coun_"

"…" Jeremiah didn't speak

"What's the matter Jeremiah?" Lelouch asked

"Have you informed 'Knight of Five'?" he asked

"No, I don't plan on doing so"

"I apologize your majesty for being rude, but wouldn't it be better to inform them now so that they can be prepared?"

"No, I plan to test their loyalty first. If they fail in the aspect, then they are of no use"

"But your majesty, I don't think the member of Rounds will…"

"Jeremiah" Lelouch spoke, "Even 'The Organization of Black Knights' which _he _created betrayed _him_, do you think I would not be betrayed?"

"That is…." Jeremiah was loss at words

"It's **him** we are speaking about. I don't know what kind of tactics he will use. I am not fully confident in beating him" Lelouch said

"I understand"

"OK then, I will ask the Knight to give the access entrance to Mother. Do inform her when she arrives back to the palace. But make sure you don't slip anything about _Coun_. It's very important"

"Yes you Majesty" Jeremiah said

Lelouch cut his phone with Jeremiah. He then looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping on him. He then started to walk towards the school

"What is this _Coun_?" he heard a voice coming from behind him

"Who is it?" He took out the gun and pointed at the direction of the voice

"You are always in a hurry" the voice felt familiar somehow

Lelouch lowered his gun a little but was still on guard. "Show yourself" he ordered

A familiar figure wearing Ashford Uniform walked in front of him

"You are…" he was dumbfounded

"Yo…it's been a while" he was greeted

"Who are you?" Lelouch put away his gun and asked

"Dropping your guard in front of a stranger… it doesn't feel like something a prince would do"

"As I thought, you know who I am" Lelouch still didn't remove his gun from his shirt

"I can kill you, you know"

"I don't believe that. For some reason, I feel like I can trust you" Lelouch said in a firm voice

The person smiled, "Call me C.C." she said

"C.C. only initials?" Lelouch asked

"Yes" C.C replied, "Is there any problem?"

"No, I don't care about that" Lelouch said, "I have some questions for you. Will you answer them?" he asked politely

"I don't know." She said

"Please, I beg you" Lelouch asked her. It felt like he was almost going to burst out into tears

C.C was shocked on looking at such an expression on Lelouch's face.

"It's not like you…" she said inverting her eyes

"As I thought" Lelouch's voice now wasn't shaky but was a confident one, "You definitely knew _him_"

"Him?" C.C asked a bit confused

"Former Emperor, Lelouch Vi Britannia" Lelouch said

"You put up an act to confirm that?" C.C. started to laugh

"Shut up" Lelouch shouted a bit embarrassed

"But still, it was worth to see your face like that"

"Shut up and answer my question" Lelouch ordered

"I knew him" C.C said after surpassing her laughter

"How?" Lelouch asked

"Use your imagination" C.C said

"Don't try to fool me. I am serious" Lelouch said with anger, "How did you know former Emperor? Did you admire him or something?"

"Me…admire him?... Don't joke around. There's no way that would happen" C.C said as though she was serious

"Then how do you know him?" Lelouch asked

C.C sighed, "I don't feel like answering" she said and started to walk towards Lelouch

"Don't move", Lelouch removed his gun

"You don't trust me?" she said as she walked

"How can I trust someone whom I just met?" Lelouch spoke

"That's completely different from what you said earlier" C.C smiled at him

"Then answer the question I asked you"

"We were accomplices" C.C said

"Accomplices… in what?" Lelouch asked

"Give it a break already, I am already tired of your question" C.C said as she stood in front of him.

"What do you want?" Lelouch asked a bit backing down.

C.C concentrated on his eyes. "Nothing" she said and sighed "_It isn't time yet huh?_" she thought. She then pulled his hand and started to walk

"Wait…where are you taking me?" Lelouch asked

"Let's get something. I am hungry." C.C answered

"Why are you taking me?"

"It's rude for a lady to ask to eat alone you know. Besides, haven't I answered your questions" C.C said

"Then answer me one last question" Lelouch said

"Fine. You are persistent. I will answer your questions tomorrow, happy now?" she asked

"You are pointing me to meet you tomorrow?" Lelouch asked

"If you want your answers that is"

"…" Lelouch didn't answer

"Or, it seems like your are worried about _Coun_" C.C said in a provocative voice

"No, it's not that…" Lelouch answered.

"OK then, lets meet tomorrow near subway at 10'O Clock" C.C said

"Fine, but don't break your promise. You are to tell everything" Lelouch said once again

"Don't worry about tomorrow, you're just being a party-pooper"

Lelouch then said, "Don't mention about _Coun_ to anyone. It's highly classified information"

"It's alright, I don't know what it is anyway" C.C answered, "Now hurry up"

_Ring…Ring…Ring_ Lelouch's phone rang

"It's me" Lelouch picked up the phone

"Fuku-Kaichou…Where are you? The _Knight of Zero_ is about to be escorted"

"Got it, I will be right there. Is Kaichou there yet?" Lelouch asked

"He is not here. He must be with the Knight at the moment"

"Is Dumas there too?"

"Yes, he said he will be accompanying the Knight too! What's going on? Wasn't it supposed to be you and Kaichou?"

"No, we had to change the schedule because I had something to take care off"

"OK then, please hurry here" they ended the conversation

"Hurry up now, it's rude to make a woman wait" C.C said

"Can't you just eat by yourself? I need to take care of something"

"I could… but I may be oversleep and not may not make it tomorrow"

"Why you…" Lelouch was mad

"Don't get mad now. Think as you are just paying me price for giving information" C.C walked forward. A little later, Lelouch followed her with a little distance

They both entered the auditorium. It was where the Knight was going to make her entrance. The auditorium was packed with people of Britannia and Japan. As they were waiting, the _Knight of Zero_ escorted by Dominic and Dumas entered.

"Kallen…" C.C muttered unconsciously looking at her. Lelouch noticed this development

The Knight was wearing a white long princess like dress which stood out too much. Lelouch guessed that it must be Milly who had come up with the idea. He then sighed hugely and exited the room. He then stood in the corridor leaning on the wall

"Don't hate her" C.C said as she followed him outside

"Hate her…Why do you say that?" Lelouch asked

C.C didn't reply for a while. "People are not bound to obey you just because you are their king. Remember that" she then walked out

"Wait…what are you saying? And where are you going?" Lelouch asked

"Going back. I don't want her to see me" C.C

"Don't forget about tomorrow" Lelouch shouted

C.C just waved her hand and disappeared within the dark corridor

"_What did she mean by see her?_ Weird Woman" he thought

~~~~~~******~~~~~~

"What are you doing here? You are missing the party" Milly said as she looked at Lelouch who were on the roof

"Just wanted to get some fresh air" Lelouch answered

"By the way, Kallen said she wanted to speak to you" Milly informed him

"I figured…then, did she know?"

"Yes"

"Where is she waiting?"

"In the Student Council Room"

"I will be on my way then" Lelouch walked from her, "Oh, and tomorrow, I have something to do, can you inform Kaichou that I won't be able to help him tomorrow?"

"You can tell him yourself that. I don't think it's polite for me to say it. It's not like you can't meet him right?"

"I know, but I don't want to face his anger. Tell him that I will make up somehow" Lelouch answered. He then started to walk towards the student council to meet the knight.

As Lelouch entered the student council, he walked up the stairs and entered the President's room. There he found _Knight of Zero_ pointing a gun towards him

"I wasn't expecting this kind of welcome" Lelouch remarked

"What are you planning?" Kallen asked, "Tell me your reasons for coming here. You have a reason; don't you?"

"That's right" Lelouch said as he walked towards the President's desk, "I do have a reason"

"Don't move" Kallen ordered. But Lelouch ignored both her words and 2 gunshots and sat on the chair with a posture of a king

"I am not going to tell you my reasons"

"You are not free to choose here" Kallen said as she readjusted her aim

"Do you think you can shoot me? Just try it"

Kallen's hand began to shake. The Knight who had killed thousands in battle was shivering

"Even though you may be under the order of my father, but just grazing me can result in your execution you know"

Kallen was feeling as though she was paralyzed. She then slowly put down her gun and kneeled before Lelouch

"I apologize for my impudence Your Majesty" Kallen spoke

"Now tell me, was it he who sent you to investigate?"

"Yes…It was Zero-sama. He has a message for you"

"Let me hear it"

"He said _Don't act on your own without consulting me_"

"I see" Lelouch started to think of something, "_It may mean that they are stronger than we originally anticipated…That Jeremiah, I told him not to inform him about this. But it also means he investigated them."_

While thinking, he noticed that Kallen was staring at him with a puzzled expression. He understood because it was of the posture he was thinking in. It was the same as of the Former Emperor's.

"Kallen" he called her

"Y…Yes"

"You were one of the person who knew Former Zero's Identity right?"

"Yes"

"How was your relationship with him?"

"Eh…What does that mean?"

"Was your relationship that of a friend or of much closer?"

"…" Kallen didn't answer. She just had a sad expression on her face

"You were his classmate and his Knight; weren't you? I do expect some kind of answer from you"

"I don't know" she said "I don't know what he thought of me". She had a sad expression on her face

"At least did you consider him as your friend?" Lelouch asked

"…" Kallen didn't answer him. Lelouch guessed what this silent meant

"_Looking at her expression from a moment ago, this means that she definitely…"_ thought Lelouch

"At least answer me one last thing. Did you take pride being his knight?"

"Yes" the voice this time was firm

"_As I thought_" thought Lelouch "_But I still don't think I can use her for __**Coun**_**"**

"Your Majesty" Kallen called

"Yes"

"Is Her Highness alright?"

"You know Empress?" Lelouch asked surprised

"I have talked to her a lot of times when I was captured. So…"

"I understand. Yes, she is doing well" Lelouch answered

"_This development doesn't seem to be bad. I can use her to safeguard Mother relieving Jeremiah"_ thought Lelouch

"By the way, where is Emperor stationed?"

"In Australia"

"The rebellion, is it strong?"

"No, it's a weak one. They don't have any decent weapons and their Knightmares aren't that powerful. But their leader is tough one. So we are still having some problems"

"I see" Lelouch seemed a bit mad, "_He already played his card"_ Lelouch thought

"Can you give the exact figure of rebellions?"

"It's 263"

"Still that much left…!" Lelouch exclaimed

"You don't have to worry your Majesty, those are very small compared to the one we are facing. They can be subdued very quickly…"

"_This is bad"_ Lelouch thought. He wasn't really listening to Kallen's assurance _"I finally know what his plan is, but I can't stop it. That's why I hate him. The position I now stand is very dangerous. I think I should hurry up with my plans. But first, I need pawns. Should I include this Knight? I only trust 3 knights including brother from the Rounds. I thought I could slowly take my time but he has already set up the board in his favor. I don't have time to waste around anymore. I will at least test this Knight once…"_

"Kallen, I will ask you one last question"

"Yes, your Majesty"

"What do you think of Lelouch Vi Britannia's actions? Don't you think it's stupid to wish for people to get along together like a fantasy and more stupid to give up your life once you have conquered everything?"

"No" Kallen said in a firm voice

"What makes you say that?"

"Although I can't think in the same level as Lelouch, but I do know that what he thought was always right. I believe in peace because Lelouch gave up his life for it. So, I won't abandon something he left for us"

"By saying so, are you acknowledging that the fact of treating you as a pawn was right?"

"…" Kallen remained silent for a moment, "Although I was a pawn, I was happy when I was with him" she said

"Alright… you may leave now" Lelouch said. He seemed satisfied with the answer he was given

"_I can use her. If she was in love with him, I can make use of that fact to my own advantage. I can win if this is the case"_ Lelouch found a smile in his face while at the same time, Kallen's heart became heavy

"Lelouch…I'm sorry" she said in a faint voice with tears in her eyes as she walked down the stairs.

**/*Sorry for the delay. I was in the hospital so I couldn't finish my work. And also, my vacation ends ******** so I can't work on my works for some time. So I wanted to say further updates will be delayed. But please look forward to it*/**


	5. A Date with Witch

/*This will be last chapter for about 5 months. Sorry, I am just making you wait more and more. But, longer the wait, the more thrill it is. And also, if possible, there will be a release of one more chapter, though not Code Geass though. Look Forward to it

P.S: I have changed my way of writing, hope you like it*/

**Path 05 – A Date with witch**

It was 9:30 in the morning. The Road on which I walked, were all filled with people. Well, it couldn't be helped as 'Knight of Zero' was here.

As I walked, I quickly found the destination spot I was supposed to be. I just stood beside the pillar. There was still 30 minutes before the arrival of the girl-C.C. I frowned for some reason. In the end, I couldn't find out anything about her. Who was she or what her purpose was, it was all a big mystery. I couldn't find her in any of records. Well, considering she is around my age, there is no way I can find her in those old photos. I am an idiot for not realizing it soon-This was the conclusion I came after thinking so long. Her personality, except for being overly arrogant, she was just like a normal girl around 16. I was really an idiot was searching her in his records. I felt really stupid just remembering the fact. But she did say she was an accomplice and it didn't seem to be a lie. My mind was about to explode. I was just running in circles.

"You're early" I heard a surprised voice. I guessed it was the girl, so I turned to the direction from which the voice came from. As I thought, it was her. The green haired girl had arrived. I checked my watch to see if I had arrived earlier than expected, but it was still showing 9:42.

"Well, I thought it was rude to make a lady wait" I said, "Now that you look like one"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" She asked a bit angry

"It's a complement" I said. Well, her clothes really looked one which a proper lady would wear. Or at least, it had the dignity, while I wore a formal jersy over my shirt and a pair of sunglass with a cap to cover my face.

"Oh! Since when did you complement a girl on her looks?" She asked with a smile.

"It's called Manners" I replied didn't wanting to give in.

"Well whatever, I know that you couldn't wait to find your answers from me. It's most likely you haven't even slept properly last night, right?" she asked me with a small smirk. It hit the spot. I just didn't want to meet her gaze. For some reason, I felt embarrassed. I just turned away.

"Waah, I'm happy" she said, "To think that you would think about me during your sleep" it was clear that she was teasing me.

"Anyway, you do remember the promise right? Answer my questions" I asked because I wanted to go to the topic.

"sshhh" she hissed and closed my mouth with her finger, "The Day is still young" she said as she smiled.

"I know, and I have to see it until it gets old" I wanted to say I was busy because I didn't had enough time to argue with her.

She frowned somewhat displeased, "If so, then I won't bother you" she understood the fact that I didn't want to be with her.

"If so, it's good" I said, "Then answer my questions, who are y…?" she was walking away

"Hey! Wait…" I hurried to stop her.

"What?" she asked turning towards me, "Aren't you making your day wait?"

"Yes, but answer my questions first" I ordered

"I lost my interest" she said as she turned away from me

"Don't joke around! Didn't you invite me here in the first place?"

"Well, it was so that we could be alone for a while…" she replied

"What for?" I asked. She wasn't making any sense

She looked at me for a second and then, "pfft" she started to laugh loudly. What was she thinking? In the midst of the crowd, to laugh like that! It really attracted a lot of attraction. Everyone was looking at us as she was laughing her guts out.

"Come here" I pulled her and hurried away from the station. It wasn't really my intention, I wanted to finish my business there itself but now, I couldn't do so.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked as soon as we got out of the station, "why did you laugh like that? Was there something funny in what I said?" I was really angry at her actions

"My My, I didn't laugh like that in years" I saw tears in her eyes. But I still couldn't understand what the joke was, "You haven't changed at all" she said

"What do you mean…"

'growlllllll' I heard her stomach growl which interrupted my chance to enquire her.

"I'm hungry" she said as her had hand wrapped around mine. "Buy me something to eat"

I knew I couldn't turn her down, because if I did she would just leave without saying anything and it didn't look like I could get information by tricking or forcing her. Firstly, she didn't seem to be one of those who would let information out, even if she did let something out, it would only add to my confusion of her identity. So, I decided to hear her out.

"I'll pay only half" I said although she looked displeased, she didn't disagree. She just gripped my hand more tightly and we walked to the nearby restaurant without speaking anymore.

She ordered nothing but pizza. I thought she must like it as she eating it for the first time when I met. I wasn't hungry, so I didn't want to order anything. But, that meant just staring at her eat so, I ordered a drink.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked

"I'm full" I replied, "Now can you answer my questions?" I asked

Although she seemed displeased, she didn't retaliate. So, I thought she must have finally given in.

"How did you know _him_?" I asked. I wanted to clear out the loopholes in my mind first.

She slowed down her eating for a bit. "I said didn't I, we were accomplices"

"Accomplices in what" I asked.

She didn't answer. She just silently continued her meal.

"Answer me" I asked once again

She looked at me with a firm gaze. "Well I can't say in what exactly we were accomplices but…" she stopped

"But…" I asked

"I was obliged to keep him alive" she said. This shocked me

"You, how old are you?" I asked

"Who knows?" she said, well I was expecting that answer.

For some reason, she didn't seem to be lying and it felt like it was natural for me to let my guard down around her. I trusted her for some reason. I didn't know what the reason was, but it definitely felt that way

As I was immersed in my thoughts our meal was finished. She stood up, "Now take me to Amusement Park" she said as she wrapped around my hand again

I didn't refuse. I understood that if I didn't fulfill her requests, she wouldn't answer the questions I had. She was asking for payment in this means. Even though I didn't understand what her reasons were, it didn't seem to be anything dangerous and as I said before, I trusted her. So, I accompanied her.

"So, how is she?" she asked "Lelouch's sister"

I was surprised more and more as I talked with her. She was referring to Empress in such a rude manner. It could only meant she knew her or at least must have met her once

"She is doing well" I answered, although even I didn't know that fact as I haven't met her recently

"It's good" she said as she leaned on my shoulder.

When we entered into the amusement park, there were a lot of couples just like us; well, from outside it really looked like we were a couple. But, I was tricked into one.

"I wanted to come here at least once" she said as she let my hang go. She then started to stare at the rides like a little child. It seemed to be her first time coming here.

I still couldn't get what her intentions were. She was really acting like a 'love-struck girl' around me, but her eyes were elsewhere. She did seem to be interested in me but I too was similarly interested in her or at least the information she carried. I thought about taking my time slowly too.

'_beep…beep_' my phone rang. As I looked at the caller, it was Jeremiah. I looked at the girl. She seemed to have gone ahead and was already on a ride. I moved away from there and took refuge under the shade of tree after confirming that there were no suspicious movements, I received the call

"It's me"

"Your Majesty, there is an emergency" Jeremiah spoke in haste

"What is it?" I asked. It seemed to be a bit bad

"The Emperor has ordered reinforcements from the palace."

"What!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing "What do you mean by that? Is there any particular reason?" I asked

"…" Jeremiah remained silent for a moment, "He refused to reveal anything. It seemed to be something important"

"What platoons did he ask for?"

"He ordered 5th and 6th platoons"

"Those platoons, we will lose half of our strength that way". It was true, among the 6 platoons stationed at the capital, 4th, 5th and 6th platoons were strongest as the knightmares were airborne. Remaining platoons specialized mostly on ground and were only meant for reinforcements for the later three.

"Doesn't he know what is about to happen, why did he make such an order?"

Jeremiah didn't reply. I noticed he was being silent more than usual. It only meant he knew something that he didn't wanted me to tell. I was really curious as this was the first time Jeremiah had lied to me, but the situation in front of me was much more important.

"Then gather the members of Round" I finally said

"Are you sure about this, Your Majesty?"

"I have no choice now. If the level of defense drops by two platoons, then compensating it in such short time will be impossible. At this rate, I don't have time to take this slowly"

"…" Jeremiah remained silent. "Then I shall notify all the Knights"

"Jeremiah, don't gather them until two days prior to the execution of Coun. Remember this to be highly confidential"

"Your Majesty, then what about your security?"

"Don't worry! Lloyd said that it is almost finished. I will be alright here. If things go worse, then I have a backup"

"If you say so Your Majesty" Jeremiah agreed

I cut the phone and sighed deeply. Things were getting worse. I never considered the fact that the defense of the Capital could be dropped by half! But, that also meant the enemy was strong.

"Is it about Coun?" it was the voice of the girl. She too was leaning on the same tree

"It's not good to eavesdrop" I said as she stood behind me

"…" She didn't reply

"Well whatever" I didn't give much thought about it

She looked at me for a moment and turned away. She had a distant gaze in her eyes. "Let's ride on a Fairy's Wheel" she said, "I have something to tell you"

It looked like it was finally the time she was going to reveal something. We walked from there to the terminal. The line wasn't that big. Still, we needed wait for a bit. At that time, she looked a bit serious. She didn't speak and didn't touch me. It really seemed like something important and she was setting up the mood for that.

Finally, it was our turn. We both entered and sat opposite to each other. The Giant Wheel began to turn slowly carrying us.

"Who are you? What is your relationship with him?" I asked breaking the silence that covered us for so long

She sighed, "You could call me his shield. I was obliged to keep him alive"

"Are you saying that you stayed with him all the time?"

"Yes" she answered without hesitation.

I was at loss of words. I didn't know what to say anymore.

"How is that possible?" these words just came unconsciously

"It's not about possibility" she said, "It's a fact"

As I looked into her eyes it didn't seem like what she said was a lie. There was nothing to gain from such a lie either.

It also was possible what she was saying was truth and I hadn't thought of that possibility. More than wrong, I just didn't have enough data to come up with such a possibility. I was missing something. Some important data that was used at that time of battle.

"It seems like you trust me a bit" she said.

"Can you read peoples mind?" I asked as most of her predictions about me were right

"No" she simply replied

"Then, do you know anything about him?" I asked

"Everything" she said

"Then Please tell me about it" I asked her. It was something that I would have never done, using the word 'please' to ask something.

"It's not the right time" she said turning her gaze away

"What?"

"You'll know it yourself when the time is right?"

It didn't seem like she refused to tell me. It only meant I have to wait for some time until 'the right time' came. I was ready for that. I spent so much time wanting to learn the truth and I could wait a bit longer now.

"More than that" she said turning towards me, "I have something to ask you"

"What is it?"

"Why do you want to know about him so much?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's because I…" I was interrupted before I could say I admired him

"I don't want to hear the reason like-you admire him" she said with a sharp gaze

"Why?" although speechless, I manage to force the word

She sighed deeply a bit disappointed in me, "You do realize the way you are now, right?"

"What do you mean by that?" I couldn't understand what she was taking

"You, you are becoming the shadow of _him_. Forget your face and name, even your speech, plans, personality-it feels like you are just imitating him"

"…" I didn't respond

She continued, "The way you are heading now, very soon you won't be able to differentiate your existence itself _him_. I am sure you are aware of that"

"…" I still remained silent. What she said was true

"Answer me" she said, "You are not the type of person who admires someonebecause of their skills are superior to you. What is your purpose of going out of your way to know about him?"

I lost. I completely lost. She was right, Normally, there was no way for the Crown Prince like me to come here to investigate the supposed enemy of the world. I thought she was just like everyone I had met so far. Everyone used to become quite after hearing me say-'I admired him'. Even the Empress didn't question me any further after I said that. But, this girl saw all. This is the third time I met her and she could see through me completely. But, for some reason there was a warm feeling swelling up inside of me.

"It's fun" I said

"Fun… What do you mean?"

I sighed, "I guess I can't lie to you. I will tell you…the reason I am interested in him so much"

She was staring at me with her sharp eyes. I could say she was waiting for it relentlessly for my response or I should say my answer to her question. As I was about to say, our ride ended. I thought of going out but she said to take another round. So, I remained there until the ride started again.

"Have you ever fallen in love?" I asked her

"What's with that question?" she asked

"I haven't experienced that feeling yet" I said

"What are you saying? It has nothing to do with your answer"

I ignored her and continued, "They say that if one can understand what other is thinking, then they are in love. What do you think about it?" I asked her

She didn't answer. It seemed like it had brought some bad memories of hers. After a while she said, "It's not necessary that one has to understand other. If you convince yourself that you understand them though you don't, the result will be the same"

"Then what do you call if the one convinced tries to clarify whether he has truly understood the other at all?"

"Isn't that just developing a deeper bond? It's making a lie into truth?"

"Isn't it?" I sighed, "You could say it's similar in my case."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was young, I was alone. At that time, I wasn't allowed to outside world and all my brothers and sisters hated me. Even the people around me were wary of me. It wasn't until I could distinguish things around me that I found out the behavior of people"

"It's _him_; isn't it?"

"Yeah" I nodded.

She didn't speak, I continued. "At first, I really didn't like him. I thought that I had to suffer because of him. But as time passed I noticed myself that I was drawn towards _him_. At first, I took it as a challenge and wanted to compete with him, but the more I learnt about him…"

"The more you felt close to him" she said

"Well, I don't know what happened to me, but when I started to compare myself with him it really felt like we were alike. I would have done the same things if I was in his place and… it was really fun researching his past. I thought I could find myself in him if we were really that similar"

"So, that's it" she sighed

"Yeah, basically I don't admire him but I am…"

"Searching you in him" she finished my sentence

I simply nodded. I knew it was basically the same thing as admiring him. So, I used to say that I admired him before, but the truth about my respect was also the same as admiration.

"I guess it was natural thing to do" she muttered

"Natural?" I didn't quite get it.

"…It's easier to understand other person that to understand oneself"

She did have a point, but for some reason if felt like it wasn't what she meant to say. I didn't say that to her

As soon as the ride ended, we got off. I was wondering what to do. I really lost my mood with the little chat. It seemed to be same with her too.

"I know it" she said, "The reason you resemble him so much"

"What does that mean?" I asked, "Isn't it because we are related?"

"Idiot, do you think you can be this much identical to anyone?"

"Then…what does that mean?" She was right, I too was doubtful about the same fact since my birth. No matter what, one can't have similar appearance… no exact appearance like another. Then why is it that I have? I questioned it ever since I could think but I convinced myself saying because we were family, then what she was saying meant… she knew the truth of my appearance.

"Don't be in haste" she said, "Take your time and think about it. If you plan to know everything, then you may not be able to remain the same person you are"

"What do… you mean…"

"In order to know the truth, you don't need to be curious. Because it can kill you"

"Are you saying I ought to have a will rather than curiosity?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"If you are curious, then you can quit in middle. But if you have a will than you ought to see through until the end"

"Are you saying I lack a resolve?"

"The moment you said 'for fun'-it became clear for me"

I was loss at words.

"Once you know the truth, you can't turn your back neither from world nor from yourself. So, think about it slowly and when… no if you think you are ready I will tell you." Her eyes were serious

"Is it that important?" I asked her

"More than you think and it also has your 'missing information' for your miscalculation"

"Wha…" she just smiled a childish smile and walked away.

"Where are you going?" I asked her. But instead of answering, she just disappeared inside the crowd.

"My secret… what in the world is it?" The secret of something that the bearer itself doesn't know! Aren't they just mysteries? In the company of the burning sun over my head, I just stood there looking at the ever changing crowd in which she disappeared.

_/* Raven: That was a mistake at my part. Actually the previous chapter was path 4 and the current is path 5. Looks like I made a mistake. Thank You for showing him._

_And, by sisters and brothers, I meant cousins. There is a reason for that which will be explained in further chapters. I don't want to put up any spoilers now ;) */_


	6. CC

**/*I would like to apologize for my absence. I am in college now(well from 2 years) and the real life sort of overtakes this one. I still don't have any spare time left, because I have exams coming up, but I will for another release within this month. **

**I would like to thank everyone who waited for this and especially **theshroomdude **without whom I don't think I would have written. And everyone who reviewed the story. You have my deep gratitude*/**

**Path 06 : C.C**

"_What am I doing here?" _I asked myself as I stood before Ashford Academy.

In the Morning that had not been tainted by sunlight, wearing a uniform of the same academy, I was standing in front of my destination.

"Why did I come here?" I asked myself again as I glanced at the impressive school before me.

"It was that broadcast right?" I spoke to myself as I remembered the announcement of Milly Ashford, the supposed Director of this academy.

"Pizza… really, is that what my life has become?" I muttered myself, "Did I lead a life before, to say it became like this?" I sighed as I entered the academy.

"It's been a while" I thought to say that, but I was here last year as well, in fact the year before as well and as the year before that, "Uh…" I felt I had said something terrible, "I really am pathetic" I thought after what it felt my life was reduced to.

"It's noisy" I thought looking at the guards. Why are guards here I thought to myself before the answer flashed in my mind

"Oh! Ohgi lives here right? With some orphan kid he took" I remembered. 5 years ago when Ohgi stepped down from his position of Prime Minister, He also took some war orphan. Normally, it should have been a wonderful and noble thing, but it caused a huge incident that the kid's name was Lelouch.

"heh…" I snickered, "I wonder what kind of kid would have his name and go into public, a prided one or a stupid one? Did he leave behind a secret cult after him or something?..."

I felt pathetic, really, really pathetic. After hearing the announcement of "School Festival" of Ashford Academy, I had traveled here from Russia. In my aimless life, the school festival was something I looked forward to every year. Aside from this, I don't have anything. No goal, No dream, No purpose… I never had a dream anyway, but at least when I was a lab rat, my life was moving. But now, it's a complete standstill…

As I wandered around, all I saw was the soldiers patrolling. Although the landscape hadn't changed, it didn't feel welcoming as it once did. I just dragged my feet as I advanced to the house where I once stayed.

_I was drowning. I felt like my whole existence was drowning. I don't have anything left, I had lost everything; It felt like I had lost the ability to enjoy._

_In the life I lead over centuries, I was never more alone than I am now. Why is this? Am I hated by Gods themselves? Am I that horrible of a human? Am I so guilty as to lose my purpose?_ These thought kept swirling inside me. This wasn't the first time I wondered about these things. But, why was I wondering them now?

_I knew the answer. I knew the answer for all the questions I had asked myself. I felt nostalgic as I walked through these paths. Even though different flowers are planted here, this path still smells of flowers. Even though they were remodeled, the building were same and even though it felt unwelcoming, if felt like it was my home. And for those other questions that I kept on asking, I knew the answer. I knew it wasn't God's fault, although I was a horrible human, although I was guilty as charged, I felt this alone because of him, because of Lelouch, because I tasted the forbidden fruit, because I fell in love._

I stopped in my tracks. "Nostalgic?" I asked myself. "I feel stupid" I spoke and started to walk back. "Am I trying to prove something? No matter what happened between us in the past, Lelouch is gone and that's the truth. Then why am I trying to be nostalgic over it? Even though we shared the same room, someone else lives there now. Nothing will be gained even if I go there. Why did I even come here in the first place?" _Is this how love feels like?_

As I was walking towards the gate, "You're pretty cute" I heard a boy's voice shouting at a distance. The voice was coming from my back but I ignored it and continued in my path.

"Hey… Wait up…" the voice became louder and the boy ran towards me.

"Persistent" I thought and I increased my pace but he caught up with me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

It wasn't any defensive mechanism of mine or anything, but I still felt irritated so, I ducked and swept my leg making him lose his balance.

'Thud' with a loud noise he fell down. But, not where I thought he would. While falling, he had quickly changed his centre of gravity during the fall and landed on the bush beside the path. The boy was trained very well.

"That hurt…" he said as he lay on the shrubs with his hands over his eyes. "That's not the way I thought we were going to have our first meeting" he said as he made a painful face. But, contradicting the pain on his face was the anticipation of his eyes. I could see him looking at me under the cover of his hands.

I saw what he was planning. He was making his moves already. This guy was just another playboy. I am guessing, next step was me apologizing to him. Do women fall for such tricks? I thought of going with the flow and entertaining myself but for some reason I didn't feel like doing it. So, I just continued outside ignoring him.

"Hey, hey wait up… At least apologize to me" the boy stood up and ran before me. What a hasty one, he completely exposed his motives by recovering so quickly. At least try to prove your act.

"You are a rude one" he said as he overtook me, "My name is Dumas" he extended his hand to me.

I found him quite interesting though. Although his technique if you call that was a bit rough, he had an amazing amount of confidence. This confidence must be because he was a noble.

As I just stopped and gazed at him, he pulled back his hand which was extended for quite a while.

"O.K…" he said as he scratched his cheeks a bit embarrassed, "You're a student here? I haven't seen you before, are you an exchange student?" He went on rattling.

This was getting ridiculous, he was just pouring questions one after another and he wasn't even my waiting for my proper responses. He was just trying to set the pace. My interest in him started to turn into annoyance.

" Are you Foreign Exchange student? Are you from homeland? Because My father is a Knight and he serves the second prince **Albis Fi Britannia **and…" I cut in as he was blabbering something, "I hate nobles"

He looked at me with astonished look, "Excuse Me?"

"They set my skin crawling" I said and moved towards the exit. That guy remained awestruck as someone died. Must be because he was a noble's son; how nice it must be to not know the real world.

I was at Shinjuku. The place where it all began, for me and him. Just what was I doing? This morning I went to the school and now here. Reminiscing about old times, No matter what happens they can't come back.

'Burp' I just finished a pizza I bought along. I just sat there in dark thinking about what happened to me. Though I knew what happened to me, I couldn't accept it. It was fear. I was never this afraid before. I Couldn't accept the fact that I had started to lose my sanity. I doubted whether my mind was breaking or not.

These past years after his death, I became alone. Marianne was gone, Charles was gone, and Lelouch too was gone. Lelouch completely eliminated the Geass faction from the world, so no one was in pursuit of me; **I was free from my past**. He died with the foolish dream of peace, **I was left with a cruel present**. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to give Geass to someone. No, not for some reason, it's because of my pride. Pride of love… maybe, **I didn't have a future**. He destroyed it, my life. The things that define a human, past-present-future. He occupied everything in my life.

"You Idiot" I said as I coiled myself, "If you call yourself a man, then take responsibility. Sacrificing for the world, why do you men always think your destiny to change the world. World won't stop for anyone, even though it's the inevitable truth, why do you all struggle meaninglessly? You should've understood that this peace will be disrupted once more. The battle will happen again and again, It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but it will happen. Or are you just satisfied achieving it in front of you? Or did you just wanted to go into history books as a tyrant?"

I went on and on until tears dropped down. Then I came to my senses. "Being alone… has made me vulnerable" I said as I forced a smile

'.!~!.' I suddenly felt a jolt down my spine.

"What was that?" The sudden feeling surprised me, but it was a presence.

"That surprised me" I said as I calmed myself down. "It's been a while since I sensed another Geass entity"

As I closed my eyes and concentrated, I could feel the landscape I was in. If I describe the feeling, then it would be something like everything was covered in mist and even though I couldn't see, I could still make out everything.

There, I sensed a presence. It was white-the color of snow. It was just waltzing by like a kid playing in the park. I didn't feel any immediate danger as it passed before me, so I just left it alone and just followed it. Suddenly the presence stopped. It would seem that it had sensed my presence too.

And then, slowly the presence started to turn black. Like soot coming near industries, the pure white presence transformed into an menacing dark figure. I never witnessed anything like this

"What's this?" I spoke to myself, "I never met a presence like this? I wonder what it is"

The presence started moving. But I couldn't hear anything. It felt like it was trying to sneak in. Leaking out presence like that and trying to sneak in. It must be a stupid if not an amateur.

As the presence aligned itself near the door, I could sense it more clearly. It somehow felt like Lelouch's. I must be getting really tired or I am just going insane.

"Who is it?" I asked. There was no response. He was definitely an amateur; no, he wasn't even a beginner, or maybe he didn't know his power itself? But although he was a novice at _presence field_, he was still composed as he didn't show himself before me right away. A tough cookie eh?

"It's no use trying to hide, I felt your presence from when you were still outside" I said. I should say this before but, this was a skill I had for a long time but only mastered recently. By recently I mean 15 years ago.

The presence gave up. It appeared before me holding a gun. It was wearing Zero's Mask? 'Wow', I said to myself, 'Did the idea of helmet change over the past year?'

"Who are You?" the man asked me, "Are you an illegal trespasser?"

"Who knows?" This guy was a soldier. And a skilled one, I thought. After ascertaining the threat he examined the battle field. He may be strategy oriented than physical.

"If you are not a terrorist, then surrender now. I don't want to hurt you"

"I don't think it's possible for you to hurt me" This voice…

"Are you underestimating me? Do you know who I am?" he shouted

"Well, if you keep your face hidden, I can't possibly tell you now can I?" This presence…

"I am the son of the former knight. Don't underestimate my skills" This arrogance…

His voice, his presence, his arrogance, the way he speaks, could it be… "Lelouch…Are you Lelouch…You are Lelouch right?"

He flinched. Although it was for a short while both his right elbow and right leg sank for 2-3 seconds. It was definitely him

"Who is this Lelouch? I don't know anyone named him. If you are plotting something, then forget it"

He pulled himself together in such short amount of time. This proves it. He is Lelouch. More than his short recovery, the fact that he needed to recover proves it. If it wasn't him, they would just dismiss the words

"Huh" I smirked "Do you think you can still trick me of everyone?" It's him…

"What makes you sure of your words woman?"

I smiled "Even if you hide your face and change your voice, your presence and the way you talk, is still same as the time you were with me. You haven't changed a bit Lelouch" It's him…

The gun he held in his hand fell down with a noice. His hands were trembling.

"You…know me?" he asked me.

"What are you talking about? Isn't it obvious?" I said. It's really him…

He slowly approached his mask in order to remove it. Thousands of thought ran through my mind in that instant.

I don't know how this happened, maybe it's a dream. No, this is not a dream, this is reality. And he is alive… Lelouch is alive. Maybe this is due to geass weird power I don't know. But, he is alive, he is in front of me, I can meet him, I can see him, I can touch him. Lelouch is alive…

As the mask was taken down, his face appeared. The face that caused me sleepless nights. The face I yearned to see. The face I thought I lost.

"Lelouch, it's really you" I burst out. My voice started to shake. Was it due to happiness? Or was it due to some unexplainable relief? I started to cry. Will my solitude be over now?

"Excuse me miss" he said as he just started to advance "I am"

A bright stream of light covered the building. It took me a bit of time to realize what had happened. My Geass was activated. That's what I thought at first but I was wrong. It was resonating. With the one of Lelouch's.

"What the…" He was confused. It wasn't on purpose, the occurrence of this phenomenon. He too was oblivious just like me. No he was overcome with awe that he tripped by losing his balance.

"Lelouch" I ran to his side and supported him. Normally I would have trouble moving in this state, but not this time. This time I won't be stopped.

He was unconscious. I placed him on my lap and tried to wake him up. Wake up, I begged him. I was getting afraid. Did the Geass power backfire? Is his mind alright? How did he even have the mark on him? There were many questions but for now, they didn't matter. All that mattered was his safety. If he was alright, then he can save me. I who have tainted myself with this emotion, need him. Otherwise, I can't go on living… I can't keep my promise to him.

A violent band of emotions rocked me. I don't know what I was thinking myself, my only concern was the man in front of him. He was all I thought of. He was the one I thought I had lost forever. He was lying in front of me without his consciousness. My Black Prince

"_**Are you crying for me witch?" **_ he asked with the usual stern dark voice of his

"Idiot" I said as I wiped my tears, "Who would cry for you?"


	7. Enemies

**Path 07: Enemies**

**Imperial Villa of Polygon, Paris:**

In the heart of the romantic city, there stood a magnificent imposing villa of the royal family. It housed the second Prince **Albis Fi Britannia-**The man who was said to be God of tactics. Even among the Royal Family, he was respected and feared. He was often compared with Zero and Schneizel and was even speculated to surpass those two.

It was a warm afternoon. The Second Prince was walking along the corridor on whose right side was a magnificent garden with thousands of kinds of flowers and beautiful insects and birds.

He was accompanied by his knight-Ronald a fairly old man as he was just enjoying the scenery.

"Hey… wait up…" he heard a voice coming from the Garden. A girl was chasing a colorful butterfly. She looked like she was around 17 year old with pink hair and a beautiful face that could smite God's themselves.

"What're you doing Euphie?" the prince stepped into the Garden as he saw the naïve girl preparing a garland of flower.

"Oh! King-san" she said as she looked at the prince.

"Don't call me that" the prince said as she sat beside her casually.

"Why not; You're going to become the Emperor aren't you?" The girl asked as she placed the crown she prepared on top of him "And Oji-san, Don't you have the delicacy to live 2 lovers alone in a park?"

"Humph" the Giant grumped and took his leave from his Prince.

"It's after we win the battle. And I don't think we can" the prince said as he lay back in the green lush.

"There you go again" the girl said as threw the flower petals on the prince beside her, "As long as you have me, there is no way for you to lose"

"We are rebelling against Britannia, the ruler of world. It's not even possible to dream of victory" the prince said as he closed his eyes, "Well that's what I thought. But with you, it may be possible"

"Of course it's possible. I am your goddess after all" the girl smiled as she stood up.

"You're right" the Prince said, "My Goddess of Victory"

_It wasn't just a figure of speech. She really is my Goddess of Victory. I was the First Prince of the Britannia Empire and was supposed to be the crown prince. But, I am not. Just because he is the son of that King of Eleven, Lelouch got that title. Our hierarchy we followed until the 98__th__ Emperor was destroyed in an instant by 99__th__ Emperor and the 100__th__ Emperor didn't want anything in correcting those mistakes. And the imperial families, what's up with them? Why do they succumb to power so easily? Don't they have any pride in being a part of Britannia? Those who don't honor the history and magnificence of our empire how can they be even part of it?_

_As I thought of those things, I looked at the girl beside me. She was again running after a butterfly. Without her, I don't think I would have planned this Coup. I don't know how she did it but it looks like she is controlling the empire from behind the shadows. Thanks to her, we could anonymously support the rebellion throughout the world. The Empire which was suppressing the rebellion with all its might, suddenly stopped doing so after she joined us. The Empire doesn't suspect a thing that these aren't just diversions but also a part of our plan to annihilate the empire. Now that I think about it…_

"Say…" I called her

"What?" She turned towards me

"How did you make the Emperor decrease the troops in the capital?"

"Oh! It was simple really" she replied and just went, "That man is really easy to control once you know his weakness"

"Oi…Oi… That man almost crushed Britannia. He started with nothing yet accomplished many things. I am a bit worried if I can win against him."

"Oh, he isn't a real threat" Euphie spoke, "You have to be more careful of the Black King than the White Warrior"

"Black King? White Warrior? Is this Lelouch and His Higness?"

She just looked at me, not with smile but with a gaze. It depicted nothing, not even emptiness

"Black King and White Warrior, eh?" I smiled, "Then what will you call me?"

"You're just a greenhorn" she said

"That's cruel" I said as I made a sulking face.

"Don't let it bother you" She said, "You can become a King too if you wished"

"Oh! How do I do that, By defeating Britannia?"

"No" She replied. "You're already walking on the path of Kings. And as your accomplice, I will make sure you reach it"

"Then I look forward to it" I smiled. Although I didn't understand the intent of most of her words, as long as I had her, I would be one step closer to my dream.

"Albis" she called me. "He is in Japan right now right?"

"Lelouch? Yes he is"

"Then let's attack now"

"Eh?"

"This is the perfect chance. We will swoop down and destroy them within one strike. If he dies, then you will be automatically entitled to throne right?"

"Are you jesting? We only have one chance of both winning and attacking. We have to control the capital to increase our chance of winning and the properly prepared capital is almost invulnerable. So, our first strike is crucial and…"

"You're hurting my head" Euphie said as she twirled about, "Lets attack Ashford Academy in 3 days"

"Ashford Academy, Toukyou Settlement?"

"It's easier to capture than the capital right? Then let's capture it"

"Hmm…" It made me think. Certainly it wasn't a bad idea. If our attack failed, then we would have lost everything, by everything I mean, from our status to life. But, if we had a foothold, maybe we could… But wait a minute, then…

"Euphie, you do know that I want to end this with one strike. If we take our time, then we will definitely lose because it will just be a war of attrition. And also, prolonging battle means…"

"More Bloodshed, right?" Euphie smiled as she asked

"How can you smile saying something like that?"

"You are having such stupid thoughts for someone having such large dreams?"

"What do you mean?"

"You…You really want to be a King without staining your hands? No matter what happens, people die."

"Strange thing for an immortal to say" I laughed. But she gave a glance which sent a chill down my spine

"You're too naïve. Did you think a war is child's game? Here too, people will die for you, allies, enemies, thousands, ten thousands perhaps millions of people will die trying to help accomplish your dream. Thousands of dreams will be crushed because of your one dream. Even though everyone's dreams carry equal weight, even though your dream in terms, is just as same as a beggar's dream of food the only difference is that it will cause hell in this world." She continued, "This is because you are a king."

"Even if you say that" I was a bit lost…

"That's what it means to be a king. Don't run away from the responsibility. Take Responsibility for the deaths, take responsibility for the kills, the murders, the assassinations. Because if you don't you can never beat them. Everything is for the sake of your dream"

I don't know why but it felt right. It caused something inside me to stir up. My blood started to boil. It was the first time ever I was excited about this war.

I stood up and looked at her, "There is no turning back right?"

"If you want to turn back, do it after you accomplish it. It will feel good" she replied

"Heh" I just smiled

"And, did you know?" she asked "That they calling our Coup as _Coun_"

"Coun?" I asked a bit puzzled

"_Coup of united nobles-_or something like that" she replied.

"They know nobles are involved? No, in this kind of world, only a noble would revolt, Still they can never trace it back to us" I said

"You…" Euphie said and became silent._ This man is not yet ready. Even though he is gifted, if he bears this much overconfidence it will be his downfall. I can't do anything about it. Only war can shape him. But, if he faces them in this state, the result is clear who will win. I need to take care of them first. The man who ordered Ragnorak and the man who brought me back, I have to think of a way to postpone these three's meeting. Even though it's risky, I have to gamble on it._

"He already knows it's you" Euphie said

"What?" I couldn't believe it

"He has already confirmed that you are the leader of the revolt. The council knows this too."

"What are you talking about? Who could have figured out that? There are a lot of families involved here and even though we are controlling them, they themselves don't know that and their intelligence is torn between Emperor and Palace there is no way anyone could point me"

"Yet he knows" Euphie said, "If you underestimate him, no in your condition even if you overestimate him you're still a lot behind"

"…" I remained silent

"Don't feel bad, acknowledge the fact. Acknowledge the fact that you are weak and strive to become strong, that's what being a human means, right?"

"Yes" I nodded,

"Then" Euphie said, "Let the war begin. The war that changes the path of history, the war that grants you your dream and me mine. Lets go and destroy the peace out there"

Thus war began from the command of her voice. The war that was waged to destroy and ill-written Eutopia, set everything in motion.


	8. School Festival

**Path 08: School Festival**

The cursed day for the young prince had arrived. The day that had kept him on the edge for weeks, the day that made him lose his sleep, the day Ashford Academy was conducting the School Festival was finally here. Under the tyrannical rule of the Kaichou (President) Dominic and the Director (Milly Ashford) along with the assistance of Knight of Zero (Kouzuki Karen) and the ever reliable Teacher Chigusa, Lelouch had more than enough work in front of him. He had barely slept for 2 days since the day after his talk with C.C. Although he was worried about Coun, he didn't have a moment to spare it a thought. And, along with that he had to worry about the special guest. Since he had guessed accurately who it was, he was under a different kind of pressure.

Lelouch was standing within the cheerful crowd of festival. He was holding a tablet and was co-ordinating everything. Since Dominic was with Milly and was busy with the preparation of Pizza and security, almost everything fell on Lelouch's shoulder. The other members of the student council were given task of looking after many counts and Baron's that had visited.

"_It's tough"_ Lelouch thought as he was moved his wrist across the tablet he carried, _"I thought I could handle this but it's not as easy as I thought Kaichou, how did you do this alone last year?"_

"Fuku-Kaichou…" a boy came running to him

"What's the matter?" Lelouch asked without looking away from the tablet

"The generators of drama club are not working and their show is about to start!"

"Ah! I already asked the maintenance crew to look into it. For now, just switch to the back-up generators used by movie club"

"Fuku-Kaichou…" another boy came running just after the first one left

"There was a disturbance and the horses from the riding club have escaped"

"Who in the world decided the stable next to the fireworks?" Lelouch said as he browsed through the map in his tablet, "The horses will be at point E89 in 8 minutes, intercept them between D23 and E49 within 5 minutes. Use nets from the sports club and fishing club if you have to"

Beep… Lelouch took the call as the boy before him took off.

"Fuku-Kaichou, This is 2-B hosting Haunted house. Our navigation system kind of broke and…"

"**Idiot**" Lelouch shouted, "You should have checked that before. What are you doing call me now?"

"We are sorry, but none of us thought this would happen and we were just busy with our costumes and along with that…"

"That's enough. I will send someone. Also escort the costumers to drama club"

"Eh? But_ beautiful swimming girls cafe_ members are requesting us to send them there?"

"Try to understand, only couples come to Haunted house. If you send them to swimming club, they won't be going out as they came in. I will talk with the drama club to increase their capacity and for swimming club, tell them to scout around sector J, it's time for the first game to end"

"It's Nostalgic" Milly said as she looked down from her window, "Hey Karen, come here"

"What is it Milly?" Karen asked as she walked next to the Milly. She held some papers in her hand which described how to properly prepare a pizza in a Knightmare

"Look at that" she said as she pointed down

"Look at what?" Karen asked as she looked down. She could only see the stores that were noisy on either side of the path under the shade of trees

"That busybody over there" Milly pointed

As Karen shifted her gaze, she saw it, "His Highness…"

"No, no…" Milly said, "He is just Lelouch. He is trying so hard to be a commoner, you should respect that fact"

"You're right" Karen agreed. But only she knew she was here on a mission and one of her objective was to join the crown prince's ranks concerning Coun.

"But still, looking at him really brings back memories" Milly said as she thought back, "On his first school festival, Lelouch was also like that"

Milly smiled, "He was always acting so calm and composed, but that was the first day I had ever seen him become flustered? That is the same for him too…"

Karen looked down on Lelouch who seemed as busy as ever, "Of course he would be flustered, just how much of a work do you think he is doing? If Nunally-sama found out about this…"

"It's alright, it was really his punishment for skipping a day and spending it with his girlfriend"

"His girlfriend?" Karen asked a bit surprised

"I don't know but that's the rumor going around the school"

"His Highness's girlfriend" Karen couldn't know whether to laugh or cry

"I know right? It's not easy to believe that thickheaded boy would confess to someone"

"Ah… look at that" Milly shouted as she saw a girl approach Lelouch

"Who is that?" Karen asked a bit curious

"That girl's name is Alice. You can say she is the one who hates our prince the most with a pinch of love?"

"Why is that a question?" Karen walked away from the window and sat on the bed at the centre of room as she saw Lelouch getting dragged away by the girl.

"What's the matter? You don't look so well" Milly asked

"They both are similar… right?" she asked with her last conversation with Lelouch was still fresh in her mind

"Similar! You can see they are both exactly same. Honestly I am still baffled how much they resemble each other. Say, do you think Lelouch did anything weird to Empress?"

"Don't say like that" Karen said, _"That man would never let his sister get a scratch." That's what Karen wanted to say but she couldn't. Because only a handful members knew the truth of everything including Zero Requiem. _

"Karen, can I ask you a question?" Milly asked a bit seriously "When are you planning on settling down?"

"Why are you asking such a question?" Karen was surprised at such question.

"You are not young anymore. You should leave the dangerous battlefields and settle down. I am sure Gino will be happy too. It's been 10 years since you left both him and Kino, you should really…"

"Milly please stop" Karen said as she stood up, "I don't want to hear anything more about it"

"Karen…" Milly was a bit shocked, "How long do you plan on fighting? Don't you want to see some peace in your life?"

"I don't want to talk about it" Kallen said this in a cold voice again

Looking at the look on Karen's face, Milly just sighed and gave up.

Just then, somebody knocked the door.

"Yes"

As soon as the permission was granted, Dominic entered the room "Director, about the special guest…" he stopped as he saw Karen

"I apologize, my lady" Dominic became stiff as he bowed before Karen

"Relax" Karen said, "You must have a lot on your mind with the preparations, Don't waste time like that."

"Yes" Dominic replied and turned towards Milly, Normally he wouldn't be so informal but just as Karen said, he had a lot to do.

"Director, all the security is dispatched as we discussed. The ingredients are going through final check-ups. But, we still haven't heard from the Guest of honor…"

"They will be here soon" the next moment Milly completed her sentence 'beep' the phone that was near the window rang.

She took the call, "Yes, it's Ashford Academy"

"…"

She suddenly stood up

"Yes…Yes…We understand, within 30 minutes right?... Yes, we have done with our preparations here…Eh?...Alright"

"Karen", Milly said in a low voice as she handed over the phone

"Yes…This is knight of Zero…Yes, I have personally looked after the security and there are no abnormalities…Yes, I understand…I have reported to His Majesty… Yes…Yes…I will speak with him again as soon as possible… Yes…"

Soon, she handed the phone back to Milly.

"Yes… we are looking forward to it…Yes…" Milly sighed as she ended the conversation

"Director…" Dominic asked in a surprised voice, "Don't tell me the special guest is from the Imperial Family!"

"You figured it out? That's _Sapphire's crystal_ for you." Milly said, "It's the Empress Nunally"

"_**What?**_" Dominic shouted in a loud voice which made all the birds on the very top of the building fly away!

"Emp…ress…Nunall…y? How…did yo…u do that…?"

"You forgot? Her Highness's mother Marianne-sama belonged to Ashford Family. It's easy for us to obtain an audience with the empress."

"I know that, but still for her to agree to come to this academy that too for a school festival, it's not possible…"

"Don't worry about it" Kallen said toward the dumbstruck Dominic, "she is coming and that is why I am here"

"My lady…" Dominic slowly recovered from the shock, "Then, I will ask Chigusa-sensei to revise the security once more"

"Dominic, we don't have that much time to revise the entire security"

"Of course we don't!" Dominic shouted, "Empress is coming in half an hour and we still aren't even prepared to welcome her properly. And the knightmare frames… we have to check them once again and make sure there are any abnormalities, and the ingredients… we have to check again"

"What are you talking about? You already did all that right" Milly asked in her laidback voice

"**The Empress is coming here!"** Dominic shouted on the Director before him, "Why didn't you tell me before? Revealing such important of her arrival just 30 minutes before, I have to re-check everything!" saying that he ran out of the room without even taking a proper leave from Karen.

"As always, he loses his calmness quickly" Milly smiled as she saw Dominic's state of panic

"As always, you still get your fun" Kallen smiled as she saw Milly's smile and stood up, "Well I better get going"

"Yes, good luck today"

Lelouch was being dragged to kitchen by Alice, a blond girl with blue eyes who was wearing blue swimsuit underneath the coat she wore. She came from the family of Counts of the homeland and was quite famous among the class

"So, what's the problem?" Lelouch asked as he inspected his classroom which had turned into a kitchen.

"Two of our chef's were injured and we are currently shorthanded" Alice reported

"You could have said that outside. Why did you bring to me here? I am just as busy as it is…"

"I didn't want to bring you here trust me" Alice said dissatisfied, "But the head-chef insisted on bringing you"

"Head-chef?" Lelouch asked, "Do we have a had-chef?"

"That is…" Alice became silent

"It's me Lelouch-kun" a girl just appeared before him

"You" Lelouch was shocked

"C.C-san" Alice exclaimed looking at C.C who was in an orange/blue china dress with an apron with symbol of Ashford Academy in its centre.

"What are you doing here?" Lelouch asked trying to suppress his astonishment. Suddenly he had a realization, "Don't tell me you are the head-chef"

"That's right" C.C said as she coiled her hair

"You're not a student here, what are you doing in our class's attraction?"

"I was hired" C.C said as she looked at Alice who held her head down

"What?" Lelouch was surprised. As he looked around the room once more, he saw quite a few famous chef's who appeared frequently on T.V. "You hired them?"

"What else could we do?" Alice asked a bit flustered, "Everyone here is a noble and we have no one in our class who can cook for a noble's satisfaction and Knight of Zero is here, if we served her something she didn't like we could lose. We know you don't care about our class but we still want to win…"

"You idiot" Lelouch shouted on Alice, The whole kitchen fell silent at that instant.

"Really" C.C agreed, "Those who take 1st place are decided by how many points they have rather the number costumers they have. The points are distributed by the Student council based on various factors like helping other clubs and utilizing the minimum resources and costumer satisfaction right?"

"That's right" Lelouch answered, "That's why we gave up on the idea of attraction which has the only goal of attracting costumers and instead decided to help out other clubs."

"The chances that everyone would like your attraction are zero. No, even if everyone did like it, there is no way you can accommodate all of them" C.C looked at Lelouch

"But every human being has a common factor" Lelouch replied

"Hunger" C.C said, "No matter who it is, he has to eat and if the food prepared is delicious, you can gain points without much effort at all"

"Yes" Lelouch said, "There are always many stores that use food during the school festival, from cafes to street shops…"

"By taking everyone of their contracts to provide food, you have already won this race"

"Even if we do get only quarter of the satisfaction points, we have around 34 stores under contract. By the rules, we are both helping them and satisfying the customers at the same time. There is no way we can lose here…and yet…"

The whole kitchen fell silent. Every student there was silent. This was actually Lelouch's idea and no one in the entire class was keen in doing in this. Because, they thought Lelouch was planning on disqualifying them. But no one opposed him. Maybe because Dumas wasn't present there? They just now realized he just had planned a way to certain victory.

"Sorry" Alice said as she looked at Lelouch and C.C. The entire classroom was a bit shamed.

"You cheated" Lelouch said as he looked at the professional chefs.

"Then I will take my leave now" C.C said as she turned

"Wait" Lelouch grabbed her hand

C.C stopped and looked back at Lelouch.

"Did you plan this?" Lelouch asked

"What might you be talking about?" C.C said as she averted her gaze.

Lelouch understood what that sign meant. He then turned towards the classroom, "Those who don't belong to our class, please leave this instant. Your contract will be carried out but we don't need your services"

"Eh?" The students were a bit shocked. But the chef's quietly bowed and left their positions in few minutes.

"What are you going to do?" C.C asked, "If you don't prepare the food, the contract will be broken and you will lose. And with the student chefs left here, you won't be able to gain much satisfaction points

"No" Lelouch replied, "Even if we don't get much satisfaction points, as long as the contracts are in place we will still have a huge lead over others."

"But with this blunder, how much of the points will you lose?"

Lelouch just gritted his teeth. "I too am a student here" Lelouch said in a low voice

"What was that?" C.C asked, the next instant she realized, "Don't tell me, Lelouch…you are going to…"

"That's right…" Lelouch said as he made a very familiar posture C.C. knew. The one he did at the ending on 1st episode of R2, he continued "**I… will cook**" at this response, C.C thought she was seeing lightning behind Lelouch as he made this proclamation

"What?" everyone in the class was just as shocked as the next one.

"Mmph.." C.C held her mouth and tried to suppress her laughter.

"I am serious" Lelouch said as he looked at the surprised C.C and classroom.

"But…" Alice said as she too was trying to suppress her laughter "But what about duties as vice-president?"

"You take care of it" Lelouch said as he pulled C.C by the hand he held

"Me?" C.C was surprised, and honestly so was the rest of the class

"All you have to do is act as a mediator between me and them. You can handle small problems right? If the situation gets out of control, then inform me. Can you make yourself at least that much useful?"

C.C glanced at Lelouch and replied "Understood", as she took the tablet from Lelouch's hand.

Both of them walked inside the classroom. Lelouch then took the apron that C.C wore from herself. It was something only head-chef wore.

"Point PNF… The preparations are already made, you just have to retrieve it" C.C was relying orders as Lelouch said. As the entire class was looking at both of them, a girl came running, "We need the cake for M69" her voice echoed in the silent classroom.

"Did something happened?" the girl asked a bit afraid looking at the soundless classroom

"No…nothing of your concern" Lelouch said as he smiled at the girl. Poor girl, she too had hard time closing her mouth which fell looking at Lelouch.

"Cake unit, dispatch M69 order quickly" Lelouch ordered

"Ye…yes" and then, slowly the classroom resumed itself.

Toukyou was usually a busy place, but today it was busier than normal. It was because Ashford Academy was having their school festival or should one say Knight of Zero was there. Whatever the reason, that was a disaster. No one there even dreamed what would happen next.

"Lelouch…" as Dominic called his vice-precident, an unexpected woman answered his call

"This is acting Vice-President! What might be the problem?"

"Who is this?" Dominic asked a bit surprised

"This is acing Vice-President" C.C replied

"Acting vice-President? Then where is Lelouch?"

"He is busy preparing Italian cuisine right now"

"What?" Dominic still couldn't understand what had happened. He was with Viletta Nu monitoring the security.

"Let me talk with him. This is very important"

"Please tell me. I will directly rely it to him" C.C replied as composed as ever

"Give the phone to him woman, I am the President" Dominic shouted

"President…" C.C thought for a moment and handed over the call to Lelouch

"Kaichou? It's me" Lelouch replied

"Who was that woman? And are you not doing your job properly?"

"You don't have to worry about it. I am holding up quite well. Anyway why did you call me?"

"That's right!" Dominic realized as his priorities became clear, "Did you know Empress Nunnally was the special guest?"

"Yes, I did" Lelouch replied calmly

"Since when?" Dominic asked

"Since I saw the announcement. Honestly who could be more important than Knight of Zero whose identity has to be secured under Security reasons?"

"Now that you mention it…" Dominic realized, "Then you could have told me about it"

"Ah Kaichou? Didn't you realize it?" Lelouch asked a bit surprised

"I knew it was someone from Royal family, but for Her Majesty herself to come here…"

"Yes I know…" Lelouch consoled Dominic. Had he not been here, he too doubted his mother would come here.

"Then? What's the problem, you didn't just call me to inform that did you?"

"No" Dominic replied. "Actually if the Empress herself is coming here, then we need to concentrate on her safety. So I was thinking of increasing the Knightmares in the vicinity"

"Kaichou, we can't afford that on our budget. Even so, we have put a lot of thought on security planning. Even Knight of Zero approved it. What's the problem?"

"But it's Empress" Dominic insisted, "What if by some ill fate something were to happen to her? How can we live…"

"Kaichou, you're worrying too much. And besides even if you wanted to how do you plan on increasing the troops?"

"That's…you know…the Pizza team?"

"What?" Lelouch exclaimed

"Then we will get at least 15 more knightmare and Karen-sama can concentrate on her Highness without this distraction"

"Absolutely not" Lelouch exclaimed

"Why not?" Dominic asked even though he was excpecting that answer

"Kaichou, if we don't succeed in making the Pizza this time, then we have to do this next year. So, it's better to finish this this year"

"Even so, the Empress won't be here next time, we can take our time… and there is no way for sure that Director won't do this next year…"

"That's all the more reason to finish this now" Lelouch replied in a frim voice,

"Lelouch, it's me" Viletta spoke as she took the phone from Dominic

"Yes, Sensei" Lelouch replied

"We will take care of security here. Don't worry about it"

"Thank You" Lelouch said as he let breath of relief

"And, is this girl the same from your dre…" Lelouch cut the phone

"Is it your mother whose coming?" C.C asked as she took the phone back from the Lelouch

"Yeah" Lelouch replied as he got back into his cooking. They both stood quite far from the rest of the team. At least for enough so their conversation couldn't be heard. Fortunately various noises from the kitchen also helped that fact.

"You must be happy, meeting her after all this time"

"Of course I am" Lelouch replied with a faint smile

"And about that pizza?" C.C said trying to change the pace, "Won't you be at a disadvantage if it's completed?"

"A bit maybe"

"A bit?" C.C asked

"There is less than 20% of chance that a pizza of 157m of diameter can be created. There are only two possibilities"

"Two?"

"It succeeds or it fails. If it succeeds, then we will get points because we have contract with them. If it fails, then we will still be the largest food source"

"So, you're gambling?" C.C asked

"No, I already know the outcome?" Lelouch replied, "It will definitely succeed"

"How can you be sure?" C.C asked

Lelouch just looked at C.C and smiled, "You do know the first successful pizza which was over 100 m in diameter was created last time"

"Don't tell me" C.C gasped, "That was just a rehearsal for this time"

"Yes" Lelouch replied, "Last time was just a pre-act for this one. Using the data from the last time, all the knightmares are tuned for optimum results and with the Knight of Zero piloting it the odds currently are over 90%"

"Why?" C.C asked, "Why this far?"

"Shouldn't you be overjoyed?" Lelouch asked, "You love it don't you?"

"But still, even I think its going too far"

"You may be right" Lelouch replied, "But it's necessary for country"

"For country?"

"You know the Empress Nunally will be be here right?" Lelouch asked her

"Nunally and… Pizza and…World" C.C pondered for a few seconds and had a look of realization in her eyes

"You get it huh?" Lelouch said as he looked at her, "Equality… creating a food that both an Empress and the public share, don't you think its wonderful?"

"Hoh?" C.C nodded as if she was impressed

"This way, it doesn't feel like The Britannia nobility is showing pity on powerless, by utilizing the eccentricities of Director it doesn't feel like a plot of the royalty to increase their reputation and the Empress herself coming here and eating a food that is open for public, A wonderful way to demonstrate equality; isn't it?

"I am impressed you thought all that" C.C replied

"It wasn't me" Lelouch replied, "I too realized this after a while"

"Then who is it?" C.C asked

"Curious; aren't you?"

"Just a little, but I can make a guess that is…"

"You are correct, it's the one of whom you think"

"You realized"

"Of course, in all of Britannia, only man is as shrewd as this." Lelouch paused for a moment "The aid of Zero, _Schneizel El Britannia"_

What followed them after that was a heavy silence.

_Zzt_. A noice appeared from the phone.

"Fuku-kaichou we have problem"

"This is acting Vice-President. What seems to be the problem?"

The school festival continued…

**Thank you for reading the chapter. This will be last chapter for this week. I have exams coming up so I have to concentrate on them. **

**I am still struggling to find my writing style so, some of you may be inconvenienced by so many abrupt changes in my style, but please forgive me. I am still an amateur and am using this opportunity to gain some experience. So, Constructive criticism is welcome. **

**And again thank you for reading. Let's all hope(at least I hope) Boukoku no Akito will lead to our beloved CG:R3**


	9. Switch

**Path 09: Switch**

It was almost 11 in the morning and the school festival of Ashford Academy was in full swing. There were perhaps thousand's of people gathered around the school just in order to take a glimpse of Karen. Even though it had gathered quite a mass, it still hadn't given out the feel of a School Festival. Among the heavy security with a couple of knightmares, the drones which flew across the field from one place to other; didn't make any of the guests in there nervous. The students were only driven by one thought in their mind, making the attraction they were in charge of a hit. It was your calm and peaceful day with only the feel of a festival.

On the farther side of the school there was a huge line with many of camera crew and reporters flocking in front of a gate. A Fence was extended from the gate which seemed to go on forever on either side. It was further guarded by 4 Knightmares which regulated the crowd with the gigantic weapon and equipments on them. It wasn't the only one with such guard and crowd. At another 3 points, where gates were built on the square fence which extended over 1 sq-km the situation was the same. More gates were located at the vertices of the square which only let required personnel in.

Inside the square fence, there was only large plain. The centre of the square had a black surface spread around 160 m which had pizza base on it. 200m away from the pan was a building where the sauce was being prepared. Some outdated Sutherlands could be seen carrying boxes of ingredients inside the building. Hundred's of Lenses were adjusted over the pan to focus the sunlight and heat it. It really wasn't easy to prepare a 160m pizza but the process seemed to be going smoothly than it did last year.

Karen entered the facility with Dominic. She returned from her break in her crimson pilot suit along with Dominic who had just verified the report regarding ingredients and currently was escorting the Knight. They both now were heading to the actual site.

"Give me the progress report" Karen asked

"We are almost finished with the sauce, and the dough is also ready thanks to you my lady. All we have to do next is assemble them. The cheese team is also prepared but there may be a possible delay of 13 minutes"

"We can't finish this before Nunnally-sama arrives!" Karen sighed

"I apologize, my lady" Dominic said apologetically

"It's not your fault" Karen said as she remembered her last night adventure of stretching the dough. She was easily said to be one of the greatest knightmare pilot in the entire world but she never had faced such a challenge before. It took almost 18 hour for them to stretch the dough and Karen was exhausted like never before. She ought to have rested but only took an hour break and was resuming her position.

"Still" she said as she looked the numerous knightmares moving around her, "The students here are pretty skilled in piloting Knightmares. You must have had practiced a lot"

"Yes My Lady" Dominic said, "Since the event was decided, we had a recruited a special group and had been simulating this scenario for over a month. But, it would have still been impossible if it wasn't for Dumas instructions"

"Dumas, Wasn't he my escort the other day?" Karen asked as she remembered the blue haired kid who only had stricken her as a stupid noble

"He is pretty skilled" Karen said as she again saw the hardworking students.

"Yes" Dominic replied, "After all he is the son of Knight Sir Ronald Desmond"

"Ronald" Karen was a bit shocked. But she didn't let that appear in her words "you mean the knight of Prince Alibs?"

"Yes" Dominic replied

"Is that so" Karen slightly clenched her fist for a while and let it go.

Just then, a "Gen 2 VINCENT" along with 2 other knightmares, came escort the two into the premises. The cockpit of the Vincent opened and Dumas in his yellow pilot suit, dove before the two of them and bowed before Karen.

"My Lady, please board the knightmare" Dumas said as he offered his knightmare.

Karen looked at Dumas for a moment. She didn't see anything particularly shady about him. He didn't have any hostility towards her or any hidden agenda. But, she could feel his impressive amount of admiration for her.

"Good Job" she said as she climbed upon the knightmare and took off with her escorts. Dumas and Dominic were the only ones left behind. They started to head back to school

"Good Job, Dumas" Dominic said as he handed over loaf of bread from his bag. Dumas hesitatingly took the bread.

"It's alright. This is your own class's product" Dominic said as he too took another load and took a bite.

"Oh yeah, they took in charge of food right?" Dominic asked. He was in charge of the pizza preparation team so he was quite busy to keep up with his school activities. He wondered why his class had decided to do something boring like a kitchen because he wasn't quite informed about Lelouch's exploits

"It's not very tasty" Dumas said as he tasted the bread.

"I know, but it has a lot of glucose put in. So eat up" Dominic said as he ate his share without any complaint.

Dumas ate the bread as he was a bit tired. Although it wasn't sweet on mouth, it wasn't bad either. It had a weird addicting flavor in it.

"I am sorry on asking this on your break but can you accompany me in welcoming her Majesty?" Dominic asked the question which only left Dumas speechless

"Her Majesty! Is the Empress coming here?" he was shocked

"Don't scream. We don't want anyone to overhear us" Dominic said as he looked at the crowd which was far away.

Dumas lowered his voice, "Are you sure it's the Empress? This is not some kind or prank right?"

"No, Karen-sama herself told me"

"Then why are we making Pizza when such an important person is coming. Do you have any idea how much big of a news this is?"

"I Do" Dominic replied, "but everyone seems to want to present this pizza to her Majesty. If not, Karen-sama wouldn't have prioritized to be here over welcoming Nunally-sama"

They both walked without saying a word and crossed the crowd. Both had many things to think about. After a while, breaking the silence, Dumas asked

"Where is he? Your precious Vice-President"

"Not again Dumas" Dominic said. He knew how much Dumas hated Lelouch. "Give him a break. He is already busy coordinating the festival and on top of that I heard he is working hard in your classroom. He really has lot to worry about. I don't want you to cause him any more trouble"

"Hey, don't jump into conclusions" Dumas said in a relaxed voice, "I wanted to know whether _our Emperor_ was going to show up in front of Empress that's all"

"No he is not" Dominic replied, "He too realizes what has to be done. He said he doesn't want appear before Empress himself"

"Oh! He has common sense then" Dumas replied to which Dominic didn't respond. The conversation returned to silence once again.

**Class 1-B**

Lelouch had succeeded in calming the classroom down. The students were working earnestly and weren't bothered by the fact that Lelouch was ordering them at all. They all responded positively to his calls and it seemed that their attraction had escaped its collapse.

C.C stood beside Lelouch doing nothing. It was because there were no calls of distress ringing in her ears. She just kept staring at the Lelouch who was immersed in his cuisine. Strangely enough, she wasn't feeling any boredom standing there doing nothing, but a pinch of haste could be noted by her foot taps.

"That's quite enough" Lelouch said. CC was surprised as she thought he had meant it to her

"What can I do I am bor…" she was cut by Lelouch's voice

"Oliver" Lelouch shouted "From now on you take this position"

"Y-Yes" the kid who was called replied.

"Then, I leave this in your hand. We can still make a comeback if you believe in yourself" Lelouch said to the ghost member of the cooking club.

Nobody understood what he meant except for the two of them

"Y-yes" Oliver replied in an upbeat voice.

"Let's Go" Lelouch said as he took off the apron and prepared to move. CC just followed him out of the room without saying a word which honestly surprised Lelouch. He was expecting an answer like, 'Why should I?' from her but her silence worried him a bit.

CC currently felt embarrassed. She was still thinking how Lelouch cut her speech which she thought was meant for her. At that moment it dawned to her that she was in haste which was slowly starting to cloud her mind.

As the both of the walked in the corridor, they could see a number of people who seemed to enjoy the festival. As they walked passed the classrooms, quite a few of them greeted Lelouch.

"It's rare" CC spoke, "I thought you would be hated more than this"

"Think what you want, but the facts won't change" Lelouch replied as though he was ignoring her

"This is the power of a festival huh?" CC said as she looked around the happy atmosphere, "They are so happy they aren't even bothered by you"

"That's natural" Lelouch replied

"I know" CC said, "Maybe not all, but many of them will realize it, the fact that actions make a human not the appearance. But…"

"But?"

CC remained silent for a moment, "What if instead of you, he was here? Would it go so well I wonder?"

"I wonder too" Lelouch said as he thought what would have happened if his Uncle was here in his place. Would the crowd still have accepted him for his actions forgiving all his sins?

"Humans are fickle aren't they?" Lelouch asked not really wanting an answer. CC didn't reply

"Have you ever piloted a knightmare?" Lelouch asked as they exited the school. They continued to walk together. Both of them were having their conversation without looking at each other.

"More than once" CC replied

"Are you skilled?"

"Fairly"

"Were you a Mercenery?"

"A Mercenery? I suppose in a way I was… A long time ago"

"What do you plan on doing next?"

"I don't know" CC said, "I have something to do but I don't know how to do it"

"Are you targeted by anyone?"

"No, I'm not"

"…"

Lelouch felt something was weird. The Stubborn girl that refused to talk to him before was politely answering all his questions.

"What's wrong you look you are worried about something?" Lelouch asked her looking into her eyes

"What's wrong I wonder" CC replied with a blank look, "I wonder…" she repeated

"Do you have any plans for future? What about your family"

CC didn't reply. Lelouch guessed what that meant. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he instructed her to follow him to which CC only nodded.

After the instruction, Lelouch began walking again and CC followed him. In a while, they reached the school gate which was crowded by a lot of people. They quickly walked passed them and were out of the school. Lelouch was walking out of the school and CC was following him not knowing what's going on. They walked for 3 minutes until they reached a sparsely populated street

"It's weird that no one is here" CC said as she compared the deserted street to bustling one next

As Lelouch led the way further, they came across a closed clothes store. There were 2 heavily armed guards near the closed shop

"What do you want kid?" they approached him and blocked him

Lelouch showed them a small piece of paper which he took from his right pocket and said, "I am on an errand"

After going through the paper once, the guards looked at Lelouch and opened the shop let him and CC pass into it. Then they quickly closed the shop and stood beside the door.

"What are we doing here?" CC asked.

"I am here on Director's errand" Lelouch said as he entered the empty store. This wasn't the answer for CC's question though "She wants few clothes and some transportation"

"It's here" a figure appeared before them which looked just like Lelouch.

"Sounn! Is that you?" Lelouch exclaimed

"It has quite a while your highness" the figure bowed before Lelouch

"You were my double?"

"Yes. I volunteered myself and May I ask who this lovely lady is?" he asked as he looked at CC.

"It's alright, she is with me. Don't worry, she won't cause any changes in plans" Lelouch replied to which Sounn responded by a smile

"I have a lot of things to talk about, but now is not the time. Shall we catch up next time with a cup of tea?"

"Yes, I want to taste your tea again" Lelouch replied with a warm voice to his old friend, "I leave the academy to you"

"Yes. I will do my best to live up to your expectations" Sounn-Lelouch's double moved out with an already prepared shopping bag.

"Disguise yourself" Lelouch said to CC as he gave her a pair of contact lenses from his pocket.

"What's going on?" CC asked Lelouch who showed no emotion on his face

"That's what you ask after this experience you went through?"

"Did you want me to scream and cry?"

"No that would be unsightly", Lelouch said, "Get ready, we will speak afterwards"

Five minutes later, both of them were in their disguises. Lelouch wore a blond wig and sunglasses. CC wore a black wig over her green hair and wore the contacts which were colored red. Both of them had changed from their school uniform to that of soldiers of Order of Black Knights

They then exited through the back door and drove a black car which was parked there with keys.

"I am amazed that you are still composed" Lelouch said to CC as he drove on the highway.

"It's not like you are going to harm me or anything"

"Are you sure? I might be dangerous than you think"

"Right" CC sitting beside Lelouch responded lazily.

"I am planning on assembling a small strike team to be in frontlines." Lelouch said as they drove on the highway, "Although I haven't decided on members, I want people who I can trust and who obey only me"

"Aren't you a Prince?" CC asked

"Yes"

"Don't you have the privilege to choose you own knight? Then what is this all about?"

"Currently my knight is my brother"

"Your Brother?"

"I mean Knight of Five – Ohgi Itsuki. But that's not what I am looking for"

"Is there going to be a war?" CC asked

"I don't know" Lelouch replied. "Currently we don't have enough data to predict whether it's going to be a war or just a small Coup but I want to be prepared"

"Can they really hold their ground against this Empire?"

"They might"

"This is not like you" C.C said

"I know" Lelouch replied, "But I have a reason to be like this"

"So, you want me join your strike force?"

"Yes"

"Why should I?"

"Because I want you"

CC was a bit taken aback from the blunt reply of Lelouch.

"You want me?"

"I don't know why but for some reason I trust you" Lelouch said in a soft voice

"You are not fooling me"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't want to let me get out of your sight do you?"

Lelouch didn't reply for a while, "But I really am planning on assembling a strike force and I want you to join me"

"You have an entire army to command. Why do you even need to create such a thing?"

"Currently, the entire army is not under my but under my father. He has more authority over my Knight than I do. That's why I want a force directly under me independent of the Emperor"

CC remained silent for a moment. "Do you doubt your own father?"

"I am not doubting him" Lelouch replied

Suzaku's face flashed before CC. She looked at Lelouch and thought for a bit.

"Are you planning on making a version of Knight's of Rounds for yourself?"

"It's not as pretty as that" Lelouch replied, "Interested?"

"A bit" CC replied as she looked outside the window into a heavy speeding traffic.

Suddenly, a huge shadow covered them. Lelouch almost crashed into the next car.

"What was that?" CC asked a bit surprised

"It's Daffodil" Lelouch answered, "Looks the Empress is here"

"You aren't going to meet her?"

"No, I have something more important to do"

CC noticed that Lelouch gripped the wheel more tightly than before. Of course he wanted to see her. Who wouldn't want to meet their mother. But circumstances had made him to choose different paths.

"Same as always I see" CC muttered

"What was that?" Lelouch asked

"I will join" she replied,

"You agreed pretty quickly"

"But I have a few conditions" CC said

"I am hearing" Lelouch confirmed

_As the Empress landed in Toukyou, the Prince slowly moved away from it. None of them knowing what awaited them in the near future were enjoying their last moments of tranquility._

**/* from this chapter on, I am writing all Japanese name in their format i.e; family name first and first name following it. I hope you are enjoying the chapters, because the introduction is nearing its end and the real story is going to start soon. I am going to try my best make every chapter as enjoyable as possible. Thanks for the pointers of 'Black White Demons' I corrected the mistakes in last chapter. Thank You for all the reviews*/**


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